


All is Found

by MayTheSpaceWarBeWithYou



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daddy Issues, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Girl Power, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Post-TRoS, Reylo Baby, Teenagers, The trio that we deserved, World Between Worlds, Young Love, talk of death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 131,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22764454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayTheSpaceWarBeWithYou/pseuds/MayTheSpaceWarBeWithYou
Summary: Nineteen years after the battle of Exegol, Alina Skywalker, daughter of Rey Skywalker, learns who her father truly was. Ali’s life will forever be changed when she learns that her father is Ben Solo, better known to the galaxy as Kylo Ren. With the help of her two best friends, she sets out to find her father and the love of her mother's life in a world between worlds.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Poe Dameron/Original Female Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 80
Kudos: 187





	1. Little Light

**Author's Note:**

> *Walks up to mic, taps fingers onto it* Is this thing on? Ok good. Hi everyone and welcome to my fic "All is Found"! Yes, this title is based on the song from Frozen 2 don't judge me. I've written plenty of fics but I've never actually posted anything before. The idea for this fic came to me not long after I saw TROS and I've been writing this ever since. I have about seven and a half chapters finished, and I plan on writing a few more while I am on spring break in a few weeks. I'm not entirely sure when I will be posting or how many chapters I will post a week. For now, I will be posting at least once a week. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy everything that this fic has to offer and please oh please leave a comment down below about what you think!

It had been nearly three months since the events that took place on Exegol. Rey had decided after the final battle that she needed some time alone, or at least that’s what she told Finn and Poe. So much had happened in a matter of three days that she needed to come to terms with all of it. She learned who her family was, lost the woman that she considered a mother-figure, saw the man she loved come back to the light, and also watched that same man lose his life to save her own. 

She needed to grieve on her own time. Without the prying eyes of the Resistance or her friends watching over her.

Rey enjoyed the quiet of Tatooine. She loved being a part of the Resistance; the camaraderie, the hustle, and bustle of it all, but it felt good to just be by herself again. To enjoy some peace and quiet. At least she thought she was alone. That was until she realized that she wouldn’t be by herself for much longer. 

The nausea had started not long after she had arrived to Tatooine. Rey pushed it aside though. She chalked it up to the stress or anxiety of everything that had happened. Although, everything had changed when she felt a strange flutter in her stomach one quiet afternoon. 

She was busy cleaning the inside of the Falcon when it happened. Rey’s eyes widened and her breath hitched. 

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.” Rey whispered to herself, but this was real. Deep down she knew that this was really happening. Her hand shook lightly as she moved it to her stomach where the smallest of bumps started to form. There was another flutter and a sob broke through Rey’s lips. 

Ben was dead, she watched him fade away to nothing. They shared only one kiss that would haunt her now for the rest of her life. Rey was naive, but she knew that was not what caused this.

She sat on the floor of the Falcon for what felt like hours. Mulling over everything that had happened the past year. She had made friends, experienced death, experienced love but somehow she never expected to be in this position, carrying the child of the dead man she loved. Her thoughts drifted to Ben then. If he had survived resurrecting her how would he have reacted to this news. Would he be excited? Nervous? Terrified? Tears started streaming down her face. Ben would never get to know his child and his child would never get to know him. 

She pictured Ben holding their baby, he had the same proud smile that he had on his face after he kissed her. He would never teach them how to use a lightsaber, how to fly a ship, he would never laugh with them or even hear their first words. Rey never thought that she would have children, but when she did picture having them she hoped that the man she loved would be with her every step of the way. She was pulled away from her thoughts when there was a sudden shift in the air around her.

“Oh, my poor girl.” Rey looked up to see Leia with a pained expression on her face.

Rey took in a shaky breath as even more tears fell from her eyes, “How is this even possible?” 

Leia knelt in front of Rey and laid a hand over the girl’s stomach. “I think when Ben used his life force to bring you back from the dead, it not only brought you back, but the force decided to create a new life too.”

“I…I don’t think I can do this without him.” Rey was practically sobbing now. 

“You can do this, Rey. I know you can.” Leia reassured her. “And you won’t be alone.”

Rey knew who Leia was talking about, “Finn and Poe would never understand what happened.” She looked down at her stomach “They would never accept his child.”

“This baby is yours too, Rey.” Leia reassured her, “I know it’s going to be hard at first, but in time they will learn to accept what has happened.”

Leia was right. Those boys loved her, and yes, it would be hard for them to accept what had happened between her and Ben, but they wouldn’t just abandon her.

Rey had calmed down after some time. Leia sat patiently and watched as her breath returned to normal and tears had dried on her cheeks.

After some time Rey asked, “Why hasn’t he come to me yet?”

“I don’t know” Leia admitted “Ben didn’t join Luke and I. He isn’t one with the force.”

Rey’s eyes widened “What do you mean he’s not with you? He died as Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren. Where else could he have gone?” Rey stood up. If he wasn’t one with the force then where could he be? “Could he be alive?” Her voice became almost shrill with excitement.

“Not necessarily alive, but stuck in a place between the world of the living and the world of the dead.” Leia explained “Luke says that it is mentioned in the Jedi texts, but he just knows that it exists. He doesn’t know how someone could get there or how they can choose a side.”

“But there’s a chance that he could come back. That can come back to us.” Rey beamed. Just the thought of there being a chance that Ben could come back to her gave her all the hope that she needed.

“Yes. There is a chance that he could come back, but it could take you years to find out how to do it.” Leia was being honest, and Rey knew that. It could take her years. It could also take her weeks or maybe even days. Even if it took her decades, she would die trying to bring back the man that she loved.

“Then I’ll do whatever I can to bring him back.” For the first time in weeks, Rey felt like she had a purpose in her life again. She would stop at nothing to protect her unborn baby, but was determined to bring back the man she loved, no matter where he could be. 

——————————-

**19 years after the battle of Exegol**

_It was dark._

_It was always dark._

_She walked through the vast dark space calmly. Taking one slow step after another._

_Different voices spoke in hushed tones. They spoke of monsters and dark spirits from the past. They even spoke of love._

_In the distance, she saw a couple sitting on the ground. They looked happy holding each other. The pair shared a passionate kiss and when they pulled apart the man smiled._

_The couple looked familiar. She was almost able to make out their faces but was stopped by a hand that grabbed her arm. Spinning around as fast as she could, she saw a cloaked figure. The figure laughed and said, “Soon girl you will know the truth.”_

Alina Skywalker woke up with a start. 

Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was breathing heavily. As Alina sat up, she was able to calm herself down.

“It’s just a nightmare,” or at least that’s what she told herself, “it’s not real.”

This wasn’t the first time she had this dream though. It was this dream and several others that plagued her nights. It had never been a constant. Starting when she was 8 she would have one, maybe once a month, but in the past few months, they became more frequent.

She put her hands over her face and tried to recall what happened during the dream. The beginning was always the same, but the ending was different. Sometimes they would be endings that she had seen before, but this one was different. Quickly, she grabbed her journal and wrote down what had transpired during the nightmare.

Alina had decided in the past year to start recording whenever she had a nightmare. The scholar in her was interested in seeing what patterns occurred in the dreams, and maybe at some point, she could pinpoint what exactly all of them meant. She was just about done recording what she remembered when she heard familiar mechanical footsteps from outside of her bedroom door. 


	2. Tell Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great week and getting ready for season 7 of Clone Wars! I'll probably post again before the end of the weekend but that's only if I get all of the things that I need to get done finished. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy what I have written and please leave a comment about what you think.

“The usual morning wake up call.” Alina groaned as the footsteps got closer to her door. 

“Mistress Alina,” C3POs voice ran through her like a dagger. “Master Rey would like to see you before the day begins.”

“I’ll get right on that 3PO. Thanks” the girl yawned.

The droid let out a small huff and went back in the direction that he came from. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, or try and figure out what these dreams mean. There was a new day dawning outside her window though. Work had to be done and her daydreams would have to wait for later.

She got out of bed slowly and turned on the lights. Her muscles ached from her extensive training. Training was the only thing that kept her mind off the nightmares. She put on a pair of leggings and a tunic that was neatly folded on her dresser. Ali looked in her mirror and grimaced. The dark circles and bags under her eyes were really starting to show now. It wouldn’t be long before someone notices and becomes concerned with her well-being. She tried her best to cover the darkening under her eyes with the little makeup that she owned and then put her ebony hair in her signature hairstyle; a single braid that she then spiraled into a bun at the nape of her neck. 

“Ali” she heard her mother call out for her.

“I’m coming” Alina yelled in response as she put the last pin in her hair. Grabbing her boots she headed out of her room and ran down to the kitchen.

The smell of freshly brewed caf hit her nose first and a smile spread across her face. If there was one smell that Alina loved more in this galaxy it was the smell of fresh caf. 

Her mother was already sitting at their small kitchen table nursing a cup of caf and looking through her datapad. “Good morning,” her mother said behind her mug. 

“Morning” Ali responded as she poured her own cup of caf “I’m surprised you’re still home. I thought you would have already headed out to the temple to start your lessons.”

Not long after Alina was born, Rey established her own Jedi order. It was different from the past order in a few ways. You didn’t have to be a young child to become a Jedi anymore. Anyone from any age could join the order and learn how to use their force abilities. The students were also allowed to leave the temple whenever they pleased. They were allowed to have attachments and did not have to isolate themselves from their families.

“I decided to give the students some time off.” Rey smiled “I thought everyone should spend the weekend with their family.” 

“That was very generous of you.” Ali rose her eyebrow as she stirred her caf.

“Well, it is a galactic holiday after all.” Rey admitted, “it should be a time to celebrate the battle won and remember those we lost.” Her voice seemed to crack at the end.

In the past few years, Ali had noticed a pattern. On the weeks leading to and after the anniversary of the battle of Exegol, her mother would always seem to be in a funk. She would become very sentimental and even slightly standoffish. Ali could understand why her mother would act like this though. 

Rey lost friends, people that she cared about. Hell, she even defeated Palpatine, died and then was miraculously resurrected by the will of the force. Ali knew all about what happened years ago but even though she knew the horrors of the past some things just didn’t add up.

“I thought we could have a day just the two of us.” Rey could tell that her daughter was becoming concerned “We haven’t had one of those in years. Besides, we still need to find you a gown for tomorrow's gala.”

Alina rolled her eyes.

“Do I have to go.” The girl groaned “Why are they even having a big celebration this year? Isn’t the 20th anniversary next year? Why are we not having it then?” Ali questioned as she took her seat in front of her mother.

“You know what I asked Finn, Rose, and Poe the same question a few weeks ago and they couldn’t even give me a good explanation as to why we were having it now.” Rey laughed at the realization “And you have to go. People are expecting to see you there. Senators and ex-soldiers from all over the galaxy will be curious to see what the children of the heroes of the Resistance are doing with their lives.”

“Ooooh, I love having to go to a party and begin examined like I’m some sort of exhibit in a museum.” The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“I know that you don’t want to go but can you do this one thing for me? I promise that it won’t be that bad and you only have to stay for a few hours.” Rey offered.

“Fine” Ali sighed, “But I’m only staying for two hours and I get to wear my robes, no big itchy dresses.”

“You stay for an hour and a half and you wear a dress.” Rey was trying not to laugh. She thought that bargaining like this had ended when she was 10, not 18. 

Ali let the offer mull in her head for a few seconds and then threw her hand out. “Make it green and comfortable, then we have a deal.”

Rey couldn’t help but laugh as she shook her daughter's hand. “Deal”

The pair went silent as they finished their caf. Ali noticed that something was off. Her mother was always talking her ear off when they had moments like this. Always telling her about the students that were excelling, those that were struggling, sharing gossip about whatever drama was going on in the senate but this morning she was quiet. 

“What’s wrong mom?” Ali asked breaking the silence.

“I’m fine.” Rey lied “Why would you think something is wrong?”

“You’re really quiet. Hell, you’re always quiet this time of year.” Ali admitted, “Usually I can’t get you to stop talking in the morning but now I can hardly get you to say more than a few words to me.”

“You just look so depressed. Like you’ve lost something and you haven’t been able to find it for years. Mom, you can hardly even look at me.” Ali walked over to her mother and kneeled in front of her taking her hand. “I know we never talk about what happened all those years ago but I’m not a little girl any more mom. I deserve to know what happened to you.”

Ali was right, Rey thought, she was 18, an adult with her own responsibilities, friends that she loved and cared about. It made Rey emotional knowing that her little girl, with her big brown eyes and wildly curly black hair, was all grown up. There were so many things that Rey wanted to tell her daughter. She wanted to tell her about the training that she had with Luke and Leia, what Rey uncovered about her past but most importantly she wanted to tell her about Ben.

Rey let out a shaky breath and cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “I think we would need more than a few hours for me to tell you everything.”

Ali was about to say a witty comeback but was interrupted by her datapad going off. She got up quickly to see what the message was and rolled her eyes. 

“Damn it, I forgot that I was supposed to help Milo on the landing platform this morning. He needs help with whatever ships need to be serviced from people that are coming in this weekend.” Ali explained, “I’m sorry mom.” She meant it, “Well now you can pick out whatever dress you like for me, but I still want to talk later.” 

“Yeah, we’ll talk later.” Rey smiled nervously.

Ali quickly laced up her boots and started to head out the door, when a knock came from it. The two girls gave each other confused looks. Ali walked over to the door opening to reveal that it was Finn.

“Hey kid,” Finn said acknowledging his niece. “Where’s your mom at?”

“At the table.” Ali shifted her body to show that her mother was home “I’d like to stay but I gotta get going. It was nice seeing you though Uncle Finn. I’ll see ya later mom. ” The young girl yelled as she raced out of the door and down the hallway of their apartment complex.

“I feel like that girl is always on the move.” Finn laughed as he closed the door behind her. He turned then to see his friend with a face that looked as if she had just seen a ghost. “Hey, are you ok? I felt something was off with you so I headed over as fast as I could.”

When Finn realized that he was force sensitive he trained for a little bit, just to learn the basics but becoming a Jedi wasn’t his thing. Even though he never really trained, he still had the ability to sense when his friends were struggling with something.

“I was this close to telling her.” Rey motioned a pinching motion to Finn. He didn’t even have to ask her what she was talking about, he already knew.

“We knew that this day was going to come sooner or later Rey.” Finn sighed as he brought a chair over to sit next to her, “Ali deserves to know the truth about what happened nineteen years ago.”

“I know but I’m so afraid that she’s going to hate me for not telling her sooner.” Rey put her hands over her face “I can’t lose her too Finn.”

Finn took Rey’s hands from her face. Her eyes were already welling with tears. Eighteen years of keeping these secrets have put a toll on Rey. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell her daughter what happened all those years ago. 

Rey wanted to tell Ali all about her father. She wanted to tell her about how he sacrificed himself to bring her back to life, she wanted to tell her about the bond. Rey wanted to tell her daughter that she had her father’s eyes and smile. That he was the reason she had black curly hair. What Rey was most of all terrified of was telling Ali about was Kylo Ren. She was scared to tell her about Palpatine, that he was her great grandfather. That he was the reason for her grandparents and father’s death. Rey prayed to the maker that the day would never come where she would have to tell Ali all of this but as her daughter grew up she became more curious and she deserved to know the truth. 

Even though Ali was ready to know the truth, Rey wasn’t. Not yet anyway.

“You won’t lose her.” Finn comforted his friend, “She’ll be upset for a little bit for keeping everything from her but she will come around it. Ali is a strong girl, she’ll understand why you had to keep your secrets.”

“Sometimes I think she’s stronger than all of us combined.” Rey smiled through her tears.

“And she gets that from you.”

“No, she gets that from her father.” Finn just nodded in agreement with his friend. He never got to meet the man that her friend loved so deeply but he took Rey’s word for it. It still shocked him sometimes that it had already been 19 years since Rey had told them that she was pregnant with Ali.

—————————————————

3 and a half months after the battle of Exogal

“What do you mean you’re pregnant?” Finn, Rose, and Poe yell in unison.

After Rey was visited by Leia, she headed straight back to the Resistance base. Rey thought that if she came back soon after her realization that her friends would have a better time accepting it. At least that’s what she was hoping for.

“How did this even happen?” Finn blurted out getting up from his seat in frustration.

“Well, Finn when a man and woman love each other they….” Poe started with a smart ass comment but was cut off. 

“I know how IT happens Poe!” Finn yelled, “I want to know who the father is. Rey, you were gone for three months. What happened when you were on Tatooine?”

“Yeah who is the father?” Rose added, “Is it someone from the Resistance or did you meet someone while you were away or …”

“I haven’t been completely honest with all of you.” Rey started. She was nervous and her voice trembled while she talked. “I think you should probably sit down Finn.”

“What do you mean you weren’t being honest with us?” Finn asked as he sat back down in his seat.

“When I died it wasn’t just the force that brought me back to life.” Rey closed her eyes trying to figure out the best way to explain to them “how” it happened. “It was Ben Solo that brought me back. He used whatever life force that was left in him to bring me back to life.”

“Wait, Ben Solo? You mean Kylo Ren right? Why would he sacrifice himself for you?” Poe questioned. 

“Wait a second, is he the baby’s father?” Rose asked with wide eyes.

Rey nodded slowly. “In the last few hours of his life, Ben Solo renounced Kylo Ren. He came to Exegol to help me defeat Palpatine but he threw Ben into a pit and then I was left to kill Palpatine on my own. I had died from the exhaustion that it was for me to kill him. I truly thought that I was dead but somehow I came back. When I woke up Ben was holding me in his arms. It was Ben Solo that brought me back to life. I kissed him and then just like that he was gone.” A tear ran down her cheek. Her friends looked at her with wide eyes. She couldn’t tell if they were shocked or mad. “Ben and I are a dyad in the force. We share one soul between two bodies. The two of us were able to communicate with each other through a bond and see each as if we were in the same room even if we were lightyears apart.”

“Leia and I think that when Ben used his life force to bring me back the force created new life inside of me. That even though Ben is gone a piece of him will still exist in the galaxy.” Rey watched as the three in front of her took the information that she laid out in front of them.

It felt like forever before Finn was the one to break the silence.

“Do you want to keep it? Do you want to have that monster's child?” He asked in disgust.

“Did you seriously just ask that?” Rose shot at Finn. “The man sacrificed himself to bring our friend back to life. Without him, Rey wouldn’t be sitting here now. Clearly she’s in love with him and wants to keep the baby.”

“Do you love him Rey?” Poe asked.

Rey tried to speak but all that came out was a slight sob and even more, tears started to stream down her face. “When Ben died I wasn’t sure how I would go on. For the past year since the bond had opened all that I could think about was what it would be like to be with Ben and for a split second, I had it all. Then he died and a piece of me died too. It keeps me up at night knowing that I never got to tell him that I loved him because I still truly deeply love him.” She took a deep breath trying to calm down but it wasn’t working, “I went to Tatooine to try grieve on my own terms without anyone questioning my actions. To try and forget him. It worked for a little bit but then…” she placed her hand on her stomach, “but then I felt this little light make themselves known and for the first time in months I have hope again.”

Rey felt like the biggest weight had been lifted off of her shoulders at that moment. She was so scared to tell her friends about Ben and the baby but now that everything was out in the open it felt like she could finally start to heal. 

Rose couldn’t help but spring up and pull Rey into a big hug. She stroked her friends back as she continued to cry. It wasn’t a shock that Rose would be the one to come to terms with everything so fast but it did feel good to have at least one person fighting in her corner.

“I’ll be there for you Rey every step of the way.” Rose smiled up at her friend. “Besides I’ve always wanted to be an aunt.”

“Thank you Rose.” Rey said as she pulled Rose into another tight hug. When she looked over Roses shoulder she saw the two boys still sitting there with dazed expressions on their faces. Rey knew it would be a lot for them to process but at least they hadn’t stormed out or acted irrationally. They were surprisingly calm.

When Finn made eye contact with Rey he smiled. Was he pissed? Yes. Was he extremely confused? Also yes. But Rey was his best friend. Even though he wanted to freak out and say things that he would immediately regret later, he didn’t. He couldn’t do that to Rey. So he swallowed his pride, got up and joined in on the hug. It wasn’t long before Poe did the same and joined in too.

For the first time in three months, Rey finally felt like she was home. With these three people by her side, Rey thought she could conquer anything she put her mind to.

——————————————————

19 years after the battle of Exegol 

“So why didn’t you get a chance to tell her now?” Finn asked his friend after he felt she had calmed down. “Where was she in such a hurry to when I came in?”

Rey gave him a look and he already knew the answer, “She was too busy trying to get to your son in a timely matter.”

“Ah, that explains everything.” Finn laughed lightly.

Ali and Milo have been, not so secretly, seeing each other for the past year and a half. Or at least that’s how long they knew about the relationship. They hated one another when they were children. Always picking on each other and even getting into the occasional fight. So it shocked Rey when Poe said he saw the two of them making out behind an X-wing and for some reason, neither of them have let it slip that they were dating.

“So when do you think they are going to tell us?” Rey asked as she drank the last of her caf.

“Rose is convinced that we won’t know until they send us a wedding invitation or not until they have a kid.” Finn laughed.

“I honestly wouldn’t put it past my daughter to elope somewhere in the galaxy and then come back a year later with a baby in her arms.” She rolled her eyes in agreement. “We’re too young to be grandparents though so I hope they come clean soon.”

The two friends laughed in agreement. Hell, they were even too young when they became parents. Yet, here they were with two almost adult children that seemed to end up falling in love.


	3. The Trio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter! It's finally time for you guys to meet the rest of my OCs and I'm so excited to read about what you think of them.

The ride to the landing pad wasn’t a long one. When Ali walked into the large room full of ships she was hit with the smell of fuel oil and burnt rubber. She loved working on ships and getting her hands dirty. 

It wasn’t long before she found a familiar face taking apart an old X-wing in the back corner of the large room. “Hey Shara,” Ali called out to the young girl, “have you seen Milo anywhere?”

Shara Dameron looked up from her work and smiled at the sight of her best friend. The two had been inseparable since Shara had been born, always raising havoc and getting into trouble. Rey and Poe thought that as they grew up they would become less troublesome, but with age came even bigger problems. 

“Your lover-boy has been in the supply closet waiting for you for the past 20 minutes.” The younger girl rolled her eyes.

“Thanks,” Ali smiled nervously, “and can you be the lookout while I’m gone?”

“You know, they are going to have to find out at some point, Lina.” Shara had known about Alina and Milos' relationship from the beginning. She had been the one that had pointed out the sexual tension between the two of them and had screamed “Just make out already!” from across the platform while the two of them were arguing about gods knows what. Needless to say, one thing led to another and sure enough a few weeks later while she watched them fight in her living room. Shara turned her back for a second and the next thing she knew her friends lips were locked on one another. The rest was history. Even though she thought it was ridiculous that her friends kept their relationship a secret, she respects their wishes. “Go on, I’ll make sure no one walks in on you two.”

“I owe you.” The older girl yelled as she headed to the supply room.

The supply room was one of the few places where the two could meet in secrecy. Without the fear of someone finding them out. When Ali reached the door she knocked twice, and behind the door came another two knocks. It meant that the close was clear.

Alina slid open the door slowly, got halfway inside when she was pulled into the closet. It took her off-guard and couldn’t help but let out a light scream.

“Shhh,” Milo whispered putting a hand over Ali’s mouth “we’re gonna get caught if you're loud.”

Ali pulled his hand from her mouth, “Maybe you shouldn’t scare me like that when I was expecting this” without even batting an eyelash Ali was on her toes kissing Milo. He placed his hands on her hips to bring her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck in response.

After a few minutes, the two pulled away. “Sorry, Lina,” Milo shrugged with a laugh “usually you already know when I’m going to do something stupid.” 

“Yeah, your right. I do.” She laughed while she gave him a light slap on his cheek. Milo laughed and kissed her again. This one was more passionate, it was times like this where she wished that they could be together somewhere else. It was fine for now, but she was sick of sneaking off. She also just wanted to keep this to herself. Both of their lives had been put on display since they were little. News outlets would have a conniption if they found out about the relationship and she couldn’t even imagine what their parents would think if they found out. Ali also felt like it would be hard to tell her mom that she finally had someone to call her own when Rey had lost hers years ago. Milo wasn't one to keep secrets. He was probably the most likely to spill the beans out of three of them and surprisingly, for now, had kept their secret. So, for now, it was just the two of them, and Shara that knew.

“So, why were you late?” Milo asked when they had pulled away. It wasn’t like Ali to be late. This was probably the first time in years that she had been late to something.

“So, I… ummm… forgot.” Breaking away from the embrace to fix her hair. 

“What do you mean you ‘forgot’? You never forget anything.” Milo laughed “Are you ok?” 

He was teasing, but Ali could sense his concern in his voice.

“I’m fine, I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.” Ali pushed it aside, acting as though nothing was wrong.

“Well, why haven’t you been sleeping well?” He was concerned now.

“It’s fine. Really, Mi. It's nothing that I can’t handle on my own.” Ali was trying her best to sound convincing, but Milo wasn’t buying it. He knew when something was wrong and wouldn’t budge until she told him the truth.

“Fine. I’ll tell you the truth.” she sighed “I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately, and I haven’t been sleeping because of them.”

“Well, what are these nightmares about that you can’t sleep?” He took her hands into his. “Lina how long has this been going on?”

She opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Ali’s comlink going off. 

“Hey lovebirds, I don’t mean to interrupt whatever it is the two of you do in there, but Rose is out here looking for Milo.” Shara said on the other line.

The couple sighed. 

Milo kissed Ali on the cheek before heading out. “Family meeting at the end of the day.”

Ali rolled her eyes. A family meeting was code for the three of them meeting on the roof of the hanger, sharing a bottle of Jet juice and airing out their grievances to each other. It seemed like tonight’s topic was going to be about her. Yay for me, Ali thought.

“Fine, family meeting when we’re done today.” he kissed her quickly and Ali rolled her eyes “Now go before your mom starts to get suspicious.” She couldn’t help but laugh at him.

He smiled at her as he left. As much as he drove her crazy she still loved him but she wouldn’t dare to say it out loud.

———————————————-

The sun was just starting to set when the trio headed to the roof of the hanger. Ali herself had fixed four ships. All three of them were exhausted, but they looked forward to their family meetings. 

“Ah, I love it when we get done and the sun is still out.” Shara exclaimed as she cracked open the bottle of Jet juice, “It means we have more time to drink.”

“As much as all of us want to have some fun Shara, Ali has been keeping something from us.” Milo remarked.

“What do you mean?” Shara asked as she took a swig “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets from each other anymore after the two of you finally decided to share your feelings for each other?”

“Yeah, well clearly someone didn’t get the memo.” Milo was annoyed and the two girls already knew it.

“Milo, I really don’t understand why you're so upset?” Ali sighed as she got seated at the edge of the building, “I don’t even know what they mean, so why should I worry the two of you about it.”

“Well, what exactly is “it” that is making loverboy here so worried?” Shara handed the bottle to Ali.

Ali took a long drag of the bottle and sighed as she handed it to Milo.

“Go on tell her.”

Ali rolled her eyes.

“So I’ve been having these nightmares.” Ali spoke quietly.

“So what? I get nightmares too.” Shara scoffed, “Sorry, that we can’t have such lovely dreams like you, Milo.”

Milo and Shara had an interesting relationship. The two of them had spent a good amount of their childhood together and were more like brother and sister than just friends. They fought like crazy and were constantly bickering, but there wasn't anything that one wouldn't do for the other.

“Well, they're not like normal nightmares.” Ali sighed, “They've been constant for quite a while.”

“How long is quite a while?” Shara asked, she too was now starting to become worried. 

“They started when I was 8.” She could feel the two stiffen as they sat on either side of her. “They weren’t as regular for the first couple of years. I would get maybe 4 or 5 a year then as I got older they became more frequent. For the past two years I would get one or two a week but now for the past month I’ve had one every night.”

“Kriff, Ali.” Shara cursed under her breath.

“And you thought that we didn’t need to know about this?” Milo passed the bottle back to her.

“I thought at some point they would stop, but now they keep me up at night.” Ali took a swig, Maybe if I keep drinking the alcohol will dull the pain. “I don’t think I've gotten more than five hours of sleep in the past month.” 

“What are they even about ?” Shara's voice had gone up an octave as she became more concerned.

“I don’t even know.” Ali was frustrated, “They all start the same.” She took a breath to calm down then continued “I’m walking in this dark vast space with like millions of stars. It looks like there isn't a floor but wherever I take a step it turns white. Then there are these voices. I don’t know who they belong to but they sound familiar. Like I’ve known them my whole life.” She took another swing, “They whisper things like “these are your first steps”, “this is your path”, “were with you”, “love conquers all” and a bunch of other things. And then there’s the scene.” A shiver went down Ali’s back.

“What kind of scene?” Milo asked.

“It depends on the dream, but they all have this guy in them. I have no idea who he is but he’s always in them. From different ages too.”

“So, basically you’re having nightmares about a man that isn’t your boyfriend?” Shara asked with raised eyebrows, “I don’t this that a nightmare Ali, I think that sounds like a dream.”

Clearly, the strong hooch was going to her head.

“It’s not like that, Shar. I feel like he’s in distress. Whenever I see him, I feel like I have to help him but whenever I get close I get grabbed by this hooded figure. Then I wake up and then the cycle continues the next night.” A yawn escaped her lips.

“Who do you think he is? Do you think he’s someone that you know?” Milo turned himself so he and Ali we’re sitting across from each other.

“I really don’t know. I’ve never seen him before but as I said, I feel like I know him. He seems familiar to me.” Ali sighed and her voice softened, “Like I've known him my whole life.” 

“What if he’s your dad?” Shara questioned, she was joking but there was a seriousness to her voice. “You don’t know what he looks like maybe it’s him?”

“My dad’s dead,” Ali shook her head, “he was shot down during the battle of Exegol. He didn’t even know that my mom was pregnant with me when he died.”

“Was he force sensitive?” 

“I don’t think so.” Then it suddenly occurred to Ali that she didn’t know anything about her father. She didn’t know what he looked like, what he did in the Resistance, she didn’t even know his name. “To be honest I really don’t know anything about my father.”

“Wait a second,” Shara interrupted “Your mom never told you anything about your dad? Like nothing? Do you even know the guys name?”

“No” Ali admitted “I’ve asked her a few times about him but she always changes the subject. I think it upsets her to talk about him.”

“Ali, my mom died minutes after I was born and my dad is always telling stories about her and bringing her up, even though it hurts him.” 

Shara’s mom had a complicated pregnancy. She was bedridden for nearly half of it and her doctors were convinced that both her and the baby would die if she went along with it. They had tried for so long though to have this baby, so she went through with the pregnancy. Then, when Shara was born, everyone thought that everything would be ok, but it wasn’t. The doctors had said that her bleeding would stop, but it hadn’t. Poe was left that day a widower and father to a little girl that he had no idea how to take care of.

“Something doesn’t seem right, but my mom wouldn’t lie to me. Right?” Ali asked her friends for confirmation. “I’m sure it just makes her upset to talk about him.”

“I don’t think she would lie to you, Lina, but I do think that she could be leaving out some important details.” Milo remarked.

The trio fell silent then. They finished the bottle of Jet juice and watched the sunset. Rey wouldn’t lie to Ali, or at least that’s what she hoped.

But what if this man was her father? What if he was force sensitive and Rey just never mentioned it to her, but why would not she tell her daughter that her father was force sensitive. Something fishy was going on and Ali was determined to find out what the truth was.

——————————————————————-

It wasn’t long before the three parted ways. They had a big day tomorrow so the three of them couldn’t be out gallivanting the whole night. Ali had decided to take Shara home. Even though she insisted that she was fine, Ali knew better.

“Do you think my dad's going to be pissed?” Shara asked as the Dameron cottage was coming into view.

Shara and Poe lived in the farming portion of Chandrila. Poe hated the city and wanted his daughter to have a similar childhood to the one that he had. 

“Well, he definitely isn’t going to be happy to see you completely plastered again for the fourth time this month.” Ali spoke bluntly as she helped her friend out of the speeder.

“I know” Shara sighed.

The two made it up the stairs but before they made it to the door, it swung open.

“Do you know how worried I was?” Poe asked sternly. He was leaning against the frame of the door with his arms crossed. 

“Hi Daddy!” Shara smiled, trying not to show that she was practically falling over herself.

Poe rolled his eyes. 

“Hey, Uncle Poe” Alina sighed as she helped Shara into the home.

“Can’t you two do something that’s a little less reckless and that doesn’t have you girls coming home late at night?” Poe yawned as he closed the door. “I’m too old to have to be up late waiting for you to come home.”

“Oh please, you aren’t that old.” Shara laughed “You are going grey though, so, maybe you are a little.”

“Every single grey hair on my head is from you doing something you shouldn’t be.” Poe teased.

Shara rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, daddy you still love me.” She walked over to her father with a wide toothy grin and he pulled her into a hug.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” He laughed lightly.

Alina couldn’t help but smile at the interaction between father and daughter. It also made her heart ache too.

“I should probably head back home.” Ali said as she headed towards the door.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re staying.” Poe insisted.

“Yeah, come on, Ali it will be fun. It will be like when we were little.” Shara insisted as she walked over to Ali and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“I should probably go home” Shara’s face fell “but it would be fun to have a sleepover.”

“Yay,” the younger girl yelled like she was a little girl again. “I’ll go get my room ready.” Shara yelled as she ran, but mostly stumbled up the stairs.

Ali laughed as her friend stumbled up the stairs.

“Besides,” Poe laughed “I need you to hold her hair while she’s sick tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, I know.” Ali laughed quietly as she followed Shara up the stairs.


	4. The Dream That Launched a Thousand Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm a day late posting this but I hope that everyone has had a great week. I'm finally on spring break, which means that I can write a bunch of chapters this week. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have a great weekend!

It was dark. Always so dark. 

There were no stars tonight, just darkness.

She walked quietly through the vast dark space as though if she made any noise it would awaken an ancient curse. 

There were whispers, but this time they spoke in a language that had not been spoken in centuries. A piece of her wanted to stop. Thought that she should turn back, but something kept pulling her forward. Something familiar and warm. It felt as though she knew who was on the other side.

But who could she possibly know that was in this dark and lonely place?

She kept walking for what seemed like an eternity. “This dream is different,” Ali remarked. “It’s too quiet.”

It was too calm. Too quiet.

Then, all of a sudden there was a rush of air that passed her. Fear coursed through her body like lightning, and the air around her became icy cold. 

Ali turned around quickly to find a hooded figure.

“Who are you?” Ali’s voice trembled with fear.

“You know me.” The voice sounded familiar. She knew the voice. 

It was her own voice.

The dark version of herself removed the hood. This figure looked like her, but it was her, at least not the version of her she knew. This version had hollow eyes that looked as though she hadn’t slept a day in her life. Her face was less round and had milky white skin. The way she looked made her skin crawl. 

“Don’t be afraid of what you truly are, Alina.” The dark version lit her lightsaber and Ali took a step backward in fear.

Ali knew that lightsaber, but she thought it was a myth. The crackling red blade and crossguard had belonged to a man that the galaxy believed to be dead for 19 years now. The man known as Kylo Ren. 

—————————————————————

Alina practically jumped out of the bed.

Why was she holding the saber of Kylo Ren?

Kylo Ren was dead, or at least he was supposed to be. Others thought that he had escaped. They thought that he had found sanctuary on some planet in the Outer Rim and had been hiding for the past nineteen years. But why was she holding his infamous saber? That lightsaber had murdered thousands of people and a dark version of her was wielding it as if it were second nature. 

She wanted to cry, and vomit but most of all she wanted to scream. Ali’s heart was racing so fast that she was convinced that she was having a heart attack. She had never been so scared in her whole life. A part of her wanted answers for what had just happened. Another part of her was too scared to even ask the question. Especially since Shara had planted the seed of the man in her dreams being her father. 

The man that she had seen in her dreams though wasn’t menacing or at least that’s what she thought. He looked kind and gentle, maybe even stoic. 

Maybe Kylo Ren has murdered her father but that wouldn’t explain why she had his saber.

She rubbed her eyes. The image of her with that crackling saber was burned into her eyes and probably would be for a long time.

It suddenly occurred to her then that she was not in her own room. Ali looked to her left and saw Shara sleeping peacefully next to her. Her black curls were splayed on the pillow and a few were covered her face. She was snoring lightly and Ali couldn’t help but smile at her friend. 

Alina and Shara had a very close relationship. They were practically sisters. Shara would even say sometimes that Ali was the closest thing that she had to a mother. She wasn’t wrong though, Ali was there for her whenever a relationship went bad or when she needed advice. Ali was always the voice of reason whenever Shara wanted to do something that would get her into trouble. 

Even though they were only two years apart in age, Ali was far wiser than any other woman that Shara knew. She was always level headed and never let her emotions get the best of her. It shocked Shara sometimes how calm she was about everything. 

As much as Ali wanted to go back to bed, no way that was going to happen after that horrible dream. She quietly got out of bed and tried not to disturb the sleeping girl. The door creaked as Ali opened it to head downstairs. 

She was about halfway down the stairs when she noticed that the lights were on in the kitchen. Continuing down the stairs she noticed Poe was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a dark liquid from a small glass.

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Ali asked as she hit the bottom stair. 

Poe practically jumped out of his seat when he realized that he wasn’t the only one up. He looked up from his glass with wide eyes but immediately calmed down when he saw his niece's face.

Poe laughed looking at his glass. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping kiddo?”

“I had a bad dream and I couldn’t fall back to sleep.” Ali sied as she padded across the floor to the table.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Poe raised an eyebrow as she started to take the seat across from him.

“Not really.” Her uncle nodded and took another sip from his glass. “What about you, why are you up so late?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Poe remarked, “Just a lot on my mind about…”

“I know my mom gets the same way this time of year.” He didn’t have to finish. Ali knew exactly why he was up. 

Nineteen years ago Poe lost his best friend and hundreds of other people that he knew. He lost his mentor, Leia Organa, and was thrust into the task of being general of the Resistance. 

Poe just nodded as he looked at Ali. He looks so sad, Ali thought.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Poe motioned the glass to her.

Ali laughed.

“As much as I would love to have some of whatever that is, I should probably just stick to water.”

“Good choice because that was all I was going to give you.” Poe laughed as he got up.

He walked over to one of the cupboards and grabbed a glass.

As she waited for her drink Ali couldn’t get the thought of her father out of her mind. Who was he? What was he like? She had been told years ago that he was part of the Resistance, maybe Poe knew who he was.

“Uncle Poe, I have a question.” Ali started. She sounded like a little kid.

“Shoot, kiddo.” Poe handed her the glass of water and sat down.

“Did you know my father?”

Poe was about ready to take a sip of his drink and he was glad that he didn’t because it would probably be all over the table by now.

Poe didn’t spend much time thinking about his niece's father. Those were memories from the past that he tried not to think of. He tried not to think of how he was abducted by him and torture. He tried not to think about how he had nearly killed her grandmother. Thinking about her father took Poe to a dark place. Poe would sometimes look at his niece and fear that one day she would end up like him. That her kind heart would be turned to the dark side. 

He did know her father but didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. 

“Uncle Poe, did you know my father?” Ali asked again. His face had gone blank and it seemed as though all of the color drained from it.

“I umm I yeah… knew of him.” Poe stammered as he was brought out of his thoughts. “Well, I knew of him.”

“Ok well, who was he?” Ali pried.

Damn, this kid really wanted him to have a breakdown, didn’t she? Poe thought.

“I think this is a conversation that you should be having with your mother Ali.” 

“I’ve tried.” Her voice cracked “I’m 18 years old. I should know who my father was.”

Poe sighed. His heart broke for his niece. She deserved to know the truth but it wasn’t his place.

“Listen, kiddo, I didn’t know your father personally, but I was close to his mother.” 

There wasn’t a day that Poe didn’t think about Leia. She was such an inspiration to everyone that knew her, especially him. Alina reminded him of her so much. They were both level headed and quick-witted. Both of them had the same deep brown eyes.

“You knew my grandma?” The smile that spread across Alina’s face made Poe’s heart flutter.

“Yeah, I knew her.” He smiled back at her “You remind me of her.”

“Really?” Poe hadn’t seen her this excited since she was a little girl. 

“Sometimes it scares me how similar the two of you are.” As much as he missed Leia, her spirit lived on in her granddaughter. 

“Whatever happened to her?” As soon she asked the question she knew the answer by Poe’s smile fading away.

“You don’t have to answer.” She sighed “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” Poe shook his head in agreement “She was an incredible woman and you should have had the chance to get to know her.”

They were quiet for a few minutes. Neither knew what to say to one another. Poe wished that he could tell her stories of Leia but he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. He finished his drink and got up to get more when Ali asked him a question that took him by surprise.

“Whatever happened to Kylo Ren?” She sounded innocent.

Ali couldn’t get the image of her with Kylo Ren's lightsaber out of her head. She had to know the truth of what happened to him.

Poe thought that he was going to faint. The mention of Kylo Ren always made his blood run cold when anyone brought him up but definitely when his niece brought him up. Especially when that niece was the daughter of that murder. Why would she be asking about him? Did she know something? Did Ali know that he was her father?

“Why would you be concerned about him?” Poe’s voice shook when he spoke. 

“I’m just curious” Ali shrugged her shoulders “It’s been 19 years since he disappeared? Did anyone ever find out what happened to him?”

“There was a body that was presumed to be his found on Exegol.” Poe still had his back turned to her, it was easier for him to lie to her this way, “The body was placed in an unmarked grave with other First Order officers and stormtroopers. He’s dead, Ali. None of us have to ever worry about him ever again.” 

“Good.” Ali said bluntly. At least she now knew that he was dead, but that didn’t explain why she had his lightsaber in her dream. 

Poe turned around and nodded his head. Oh kiddo, you wouldn’t be saying that if you knew the truth, He thought as he took his seat again.

“I should probably go back to bed,” Ali said abruptly and got up from her seat. “thanks for everything, Uncle Poe.”

“Anything for you, kiddo. Goodnight.” He said with a sheepish smile.

She gave him a tired smile and headed up the stairs.

Poe leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn’t keep prying about him her father. He was going to have to com Rey tomorrow and tell her. 

What really concerned him was that she asked about Kylo Ren immediately after asking about her father. She has to know something. Why else would she be asking about him?

He couldn’t even imagine how his niece would react to the news of who her father was. Ali was a strong girl but would she be strong enough to take that kind of information.

——————————————————————

When Shara woke up Ali was already gone. She got up out of bed slowly in fear that she would be hungover. Miraculously, she didn’t even have the slightest of headaches.

As she headed downstairs she was surprised not to see Ali in her usual spot. Her father sat at the table drinking a cup of caf.

“Good morning, baby,” Poe said as his daughter came into the kitchen.

“Good morning, daddy.” Shara mused as she kissed her father’s cheek, “Did Ali leave already?”

“Yeah, she left about an hour ago. She said that she had to get an early start to her day since the Gala is tonight.”

“How did she seem when she left?” Shara asked as she sat down at the table.

“She looked tired.” Her father remarked, “I was up late last night. She woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I gave her a glass of water and we talked for a little bit. Then she went back to bed.”

“Did she say what her nightmare was about?” There was concern in his daughter’s voice.

“No, but she did ask about who her father was.” Poe quirked an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Because Ali has been having nightmares every night for months, daddy, and I’m really concerned for her.” 

Poe’s eyes went wide. “Has she told her mom?”

“No, she’s too scared too. What did the two of you talk about?” 

“She asked me if I knew her father.” Poe sighed

“Did you know her father?” Her voice was starting to become shrill. She was worried and Poe knew it.

“I knew of him.” His voice was shaking.

“Daddy, don’t lie to me.” She reached her arm out and placed her hand over his, “Did you know Ali’s father?”

Poe took a deep breath. Everything In him was screaming. He wanted to tell his daughter the truth but how would she react to finding out that her best friend was the daughter of Kylo Ren?

“Okay, I’ll tell you the truth, but you have to promise me something.” He spoke in a stern tone.

“Okay.” His daughter raised an eyebrow.

“You have to promise me that you will not tell Ali what I’m about to tell you. Rey needs to do it herself. You also have to promise me that you won’t think less of Ali. You won’t think less of her and you won’t hate her because of this.”

“I promise, daddy, but you are starting to scare me.” Shara could already feel the tears welling in her eyes. She was genuinely scared and Poe knew that what he was about to say was going to shock her.

Poe told his daughter everything that he knew. He told her about Kylo Ren, about Ben and even about Palpatine. She was calm throughout the entire conversation. Shara cried but they were tears but they weren’t out of fear. They were tears for her friend, her aunt, and a good man that she would never get the chance to meet. 

“Are you ok?” Poe asked when everything was said.

Shara just nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She wiped away a few stray tears from her cheek. 

“Please promise me that you won’t tell her. Rey would kill me if she knew that I told you everything.” Poe got up from his seat and walked over to Shara, bringing her into a big hug. 

She hugged her father tightly. Taking in a shaky breath she answered “I promise that I won’t tell her daddy.”

“Thank you.” Poe released the hug, “I have to go into town for a little bit. Are you going to be ok by yourself for a few hours?” 

“I’ll be fine” she smiled up at her father “I have to start getting ready for the gala tonight anyway.”

Poe kissed his daughter on the cheek and was out the door.

Shara waited about 5 seconds and then she raced up the stairs. She swung open her bedroom door in search of her comlink. When she finally found it, shoved in the pocket of her pants that she wore yesterday, she tried to com the only other person that needed to know the information about Ali’s true parentage.

“Milo” Shara called into the device. “Milo, please pick up.”

It was still early and she worried that he would still be sleeping. “God’s Milo get up!” She screamed into the com.

She heard the device on the other side come to life and she sighed in relief.

“Do you realize what kriffing time it is?” A groggy Milo answered on the other side.

“Oh thank the Maker you’re up! How fast can you get here?”

“Why is something wrong? Is it Ali? Is she ok?” He sounded frantic.

“No she’s fine” Shara reassured, “But I need you to come here as fast as you can get here. Don’t tell Ali though because this concerns her.”

“Okay, I should be there in like fifteen minutes.”

“Great meet me in the barn when you get here.” Shara turned the com off and got dressed.

She had to tell him. He needed to know and be prepared for when Ali found out about her parentage. Milo loves Ali with every fiber of his being. Shara knew this and had since they were little kids. He would not hold the information that she had against Ali and if he did she would knock the stupid out of him.

The barn was where Shara's father kept his old X-wing from when he was with the Resistance. It was full of spare parts and reeked of engine fuel. Shara didn’t have to wait long for Milo to come barreling into the wooden building.

“Well, that was fast.” Shara quirked.

“You said it was about Ali, so I came as fast as I could.” Milo was out of breath.

Did the idiot run here? Shara questioned.

“So what is it that you were so insistent on telling and have me coming here so early in the morning?” 

“Milo, I think you should probably sit down.” Shara got up from the crate that she was sitting on and offered it to him. 

“Why? What’s wrong?” He sat down onto the crate “Is this about Ali’s nightmares?”

Shara didn’t know how to start. She had her back turned to Milo. How was he going to react to this kind of news?

She shook her head and took a deep breath before she started.

“I spoke with my dad this morning about Ali’s father and who he really was.” She closed her eyes trying to remember exactly what her father had told her.

“Did he know him?” Milo interrupted.

“Yeah, my dad knew her father.” She nodded her head and faced her friend. “Well knew of him anyway. His name was Ben Solo.”

“Wait, Ben Solo? Like Han Solo, the General?” Milo was a little in awe but he wouldn’t be soon. 

“Yeah he’s his son and his mother was Leia Organa.”

“Shara, this is good news. Ali will finally get to know who her father was.” He got up from his seat and grabbed Shara by her shoulders. The smile on his face faded though when he realized that Shara did not feel the same way. “Why do you look like you are about to faint?”

“Ben Solo was known by a different name when our parents knew him, Milo.” She took a deep breath. Shara could feel tears welling in her eyes. “Our parents knew him as Kylo Ren.”

It took Milo a few moments to process what Shara had said.

“That’s impossible.” He whispered. All of the color seemed to drain from his face. Milos dark skin looked sickly and he too now looked like he was going to faint. He had heard stories of Kylo Ren. That man was a monster. There was no way that he could be Ali’s father. 

Ali was kind and gentle. She was such a good person that made his heartache. Rey made sure that her daughter was all of these things because she was too. How could that monster be the love of his life’s father?

“Please tell me that this isn’t true! This can’t be true!” Milo shook Shara’s shoulders. His voice was shaking with fear.

“Why would my dad lie to me, Milo?” Shara removed his hands from her shoulder and took them into her hands. “It’s the truth, Milo. Alina is his daughter.”

“How did he even know Aunt Rey?” 

“My dad told me that she and Ben had some connection in the force. That they were a “Dyad” in the force. They were soulmates, destined to be together.” Milo sat back down, putting his face into his hands. Shara continued “He told me that he and your parents didn’t know about their connection until after they found out that she was having Ali.”

“So what Aunt Rey was sleeping with the enemy right under their noses?” He was angry now. 

“No.” Shara had tears streaming down her face now. She knelt down next to him and took his hands away from his face “During the battle of Exegol, Ben Solo, decided that he was no longer Kylo Ren. Rey had already gone to Exegol to kill Palpatine and he went after her to go help. He couldn’t help her though because Palpatine threw him into a giant pit.”

They had heard the tale many times about how Rey went to kill Palpatine. She was able to kill but nearly died herself from her injuries. They were told that the force had healed her as a thank you for restoring balance back to the galaxy.

“When Rey died it wasn’t the force that saved her Milo, it was Ben. He used all of the energy that he had left in him to bring back Rey. He loved her so much that he sacrificed himself to bring the love of his life back to life.” Shara held back a sob, “Rey believes, that when Ben brought her back the force gave her a piece of him. Almost as if it knew that Ben wasn’t going to make it. She found out a few months later that she was pregnant with Ali.”

They sat there for almost half an hour. Shara just sat there holding Milo’s hands as he continued to cry. Milo didn’t know what to do with the information he had just received. He wanted to go to Ali and just hold her

“We have to tell, Ali.” Milo finally spoke after he had calmed down enough that he could sound at least half understandable. 

“Rey has to do it, Milo. We can’t be the ones to tell her.” Shara also wanted to tell Ali, but Rey had to do it. She was Ali’s mother. She needed to hear this information from her.

“Shara, she has to know.”

“And she will once Rey tells her,” Shara reassured him.

“Ali has been begging Rey to tell her about her father for years. When is she going to tell her?” Milo got up in frustration and started pacing around the work area.

“My dad comed Rey this morning. I guess Ali got up in the middle of the night from having a nightmare. My dad was awake and they started talking.” Shara closed her eyes trying to remember what her father had told her, “Then she started asking questions about her father and she even asked him about Kylo Ren. Rey told my dad that she was going to tell Ali tonight about Ben.”

“But is Rey actually going to tell her?” Milo stopped to look at his friend. 

“If she doesn’t tell her soon, I think that she’ll be able to figure it out herself.” Shara sighed as she got up from where she was sitting “It sounded like Rey was going to tell her tonight after the gala but my dad said she has been saying that she would tell Ali the truth for years now but never has.”

“Shara if Rey doesn’t tell Ali tonight the truth about her father, we are going to have to tell her.”

“I don’t think I have the heart to tell her.” The young girl shook her head, “I could only imagine how she’s going to react to hearing that kind of news.” tears started to well in her eyes, “Milo what if she… oh, gods Milo what if she goes dark? What if she’s never the same ever again when she finds out the truth?”

Milo took his friend into his arms. He was scared too. Practically terrified that the girl that he loved would change forever after learning who her father truly was.

“Lina will get through this and we will help her every step of the way. She’s the strongest person that either of us knows.” Milo reassured her.

“Everyone always makes comments on how strong Ali is and how nothing could break her spirit.” Shara was frustrated, “But Milo even the strongest of hearts are made of Kiber and eventually they have to break at some point. What if this is what takes her over the edge? What if learning about her father is what breaks her?” A sob broke through “Milo, I can’t lose another person in my life.”

“I can’t lose her either.” He too had tears welling in his eyes, “Whatever happens, when she finds out, we will be there for her every step of the way. No matter what happens.”

Shara nodded her head in agreement. “No matter what happens we’ll be there for her, always.”

Milo brought Shara in tighter into their embrace. The two didn’t always see eye to eye all of the time but they would do whatever it took to protect Alina.

“Always.”


	5. A Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late, I know, I'm really sorry but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because things are about to get interesting and really really sad.

The senatorial building had been completely transformed into an event space for tonight’s gala. The large open room had been completely changed. Hundreds of tables now scattered around the room and there was a large dance floor in the center.

There was already a slew of people at the gala. Poe, Finn, Rose, and Rey were busy catching up with old friends that they hadn’t seen in years, while Milo was making small talk with a few of the cadets from the flight academy. Milo was intently listening to a story that one of them was telling when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

“Well don’t you clean up nicely.” came a familiar voice from behind him.

He turned around to find Shara, her curly hair was done in a low bun with small curly falling around her face and she wore a light lavender beaded jumpsuit that had a cape attached to it. 

“Damn, so do you.” Milo laughed.

“Thanks, Milo.” Shara laughed. The dark lipstick that she wore showed off her smile. “Where’s Alina at? Shouldn’t she be here by now?”

“Yeah, she should be. Rey’s over there talking to my mom.” Milo pointed in the direction of where the two women were, “Maybe she knows where she is?”

The two walked through the crowd to find Rey, Rose, Finn, and Poe all talking. Their lives had become so busy in recent years that it was hard for all four of them to be able to be together. 

“Well, would you look at this site,” Finn remarked as the two friends as they walked over. 

“It’s hard to believe that they are all grown up so fast.” Rose smiled up at her son.

“I just hope not too fast.” Poe offered his arm to his daughter. 

Shara rolled her eyes and looped her arm around her fathers. “Don’t worry daddy you still have a few more years of me at home and then I’m off to the flight academy. Where I’ll still be able to annoy the hell out of you.”

Poe rolled his eyes and the group around them burst into laughter. 

“Where’s Ali thought? Shouldn’t she be here?” Milo asked as the group fell into a comfortable silence.

“She should be here soon.” Rey reassured, “Ali was just putting her dress on while I was leaving.”

“She’s wearing a dress?” Shara asked in shock, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Oh, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.” Rey smiled and motioned for Shara and Milo to look behind them. 

As if on cue. Alina appeared at the top of the staircase of the large room. She wore a light green off the shoulder dress. It had intricate wildflowers embroidered along the neckline, that trailed down the bodice and skirt. Her hair was down with the top of her hair braided back with tiny white flowers being stuck in between the braids. 

“Gods, she looks like royalty.” Shara smiled. She looked over at Milo who had a dazed expression on his face. If they want to keep their relationship a secret then he shouldn’t look at her like he’s never seen a woman before. 

“Wow” Milo whispered and without blinking an eye headed to go meet her.

“So are they still trying to play the, we’re not dating, game or is this him telling us?” Finn laughed as his starry-eyed son tried to maneuver through the crowd.

“Wait a second.” Shara spun around, “You guys know about them?”

The adults nodded their heads in agreement.

“We’ve known about them for a year and a half.” Rose laughed.

“Wait you know about them?” Rey was a little surprised.

“Who the hell do you think is lookout while they are doing gods only knows what, in the supply closet.” The young girl started to laugh at the thought that all her friends wanted to do was keep their relationship a secret, but in reality, their parents had known all along. 

  
When Milo had gotten to the stairs Ali was already halfway down them. Her dress cascaded down the stairs like water coming off of a waterfall. She looked as though she was floating and with every step she took, her dark curls bounced over her shoulders. The most beautiful thing about Ali though was the smile that spread across her face when she saw Milo waiting for her at the bottom of the steps.

“You look…” Milo started but was cut off.

“Don’t finish that sentence nerfhearder.” Ali spoke in a hushed tone.

“Beautiful. There is said it. You look beautiful.” Milo laughed as he offered her his arm.

Ali rolled her eyes but took his arm as she came down the last few steps. “Thank you, Milo.” Her eyes said everything that she wanted to say but couldn’t. 

As they started walking towards their parents Ali noticed what Milo was wearing. He wore an emerald green suit jacket with black pants and a white button-down shirt. She scrunched her nose in confusion.

“What?” Milo asked nothing Ali’s face.

“You’re wearing green. You hate green.” Ali responded. 

“Yes I do,” He laughed. “but you love it.” 

Ali’s face softened. _He truly does love me._

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.” Ali was caught from her thoughts by Shara acting as though she had never seen Ali before. “You look stunning? Beautiful? Hot? I can’t even think of an adjective to describe this.” Sharas hands were flailing around as she spoke.

Ali and Milo laughed at their friend who was having some sort of meltdown. 

“Are you ok? Do you need to sit down? Maybe a drink?” Ali laughed even harder.

“Honestly we could all use a drink,” Shara whispered then all three of them then laughed in agreement. If there was one thing that all three of them needed it was a drink.  
  
“You look like a princess.” A quiet voice from behind them caught the pair off guard.

The pair turned around to find Milos sister, Paige Tico, standing behind them. The seven-year-old had a wide smile as she looked up at the pair. 

Ali knelt to be the same height as the little girl. 

“Thank you Paigie.” Since the moment Paige was born, Ali had a special place in her heart for the little girl, “You look like a princess too.”

She took one of the small flowers that she had in her hair and placed it in the little girl's curly hair. Paige giggled and hugged Ali before running off to play with some of the children at the gala.

As Ali watched the little girl run away she noticed that her mother and Rose were walking towards them. She got up to greet her mother with a wide smile on her face. 

“Did I do a good job picking out your dress?” Rey asked as she reached the kids.

“I mean it is a little itchy,” Ali teased, “but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so beautiful in my whole life. Thank you, mom.”

“You’re welcome, Ali.” Rey leaned in hugging her daughter and kissed her on the cheek.

“But why do you get to wear your robes and I have to wear this dress?” Ali asked slightly annoyed.

“Well, I am the Jedi master sweetheart.” Rey teased.

The group laughed and Shara put an arm around her friend's shoulder.

“Well, at least we get to suffer being actual girls together?” She teased.

“You’re wearing pants Shara” Ali motioned towards her friends jumpsuit, “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh come on Lina I know you secretly love getting all dressed up.” Shara gave Ali a cheeky grin. 

Ali rolled her eyes, but Shara wasn’t wrong. She did actually like getting dressed up just this once.

The evening went on smoothly with the gala. There was plenty of food, drinking, and dancing. Poe even snuck the three of them alcohol. They truly had a wonderful time even until the very end. 

The gala was coming to a close when the three of them were all sitting down at their table and a familiar face stopped by to say hello.

“Maz!” Ali exclaimed with excitement seeing the old women. “How have you been? When was the last time we saw each other?”

“It's been quite some time since I have seen you, Alina.” When Maz had reached the trio, Ali got up from her seat, knelt to be the old woman's height and brought her into a hug. “I’m wonderful, my sweet girl. How are you?”

“I couldn’t be better,” Ali sighed, still feeling the euphoria that was tonight’s gala, “but where were you at my birthday party?”

“I was stuck on business.” Maz laughed patting the young girls cheek, “You don’t need to know the details.”

Ali understood and laughed with the old woman. She knew that Maz was in a shady business of running a Cantina, and was even doing a little smuggling. She had even become a senator in recent years but nevertheless, her mother trusted her. So Ali did too.

“Even though I missed your birthday child I did bring you a gift.” Maz laughed, “It’s in my chambers. Come follow me and bring your friends.”

The old woman started her walk to her chambers. Ali looked at her friends.

“Come on, let's see what she has for me.” Mazs gifts were always interesting, to say the least. They usually varied from lavish jewelry to ancient artifacts. Last year it had been a beautiful emerald encrusted necklace, which meant that this year she was getting some old dusty artifacts that would sit on a shelf in her living room.

The trio followed the old woman through numerous long hallways, in a lift and down another set of hallways to get to Mazs office.

“This long walk better be worth it,” Milo complained.

“Yeah, my feet are killing me.” Shara wined.

Ali looked back and rolled her eyes at the pair. She took Milos hand, laced her fingers with his and put an arm around Sharas shoulders. “Oh come on you big babies.”

Maz opened the door to her office and flipped on the lights. The trio walked into the large room and marveled at how extravagant it was. Large shelves help more books than any of them had ever seen. There were even artifacts that dated back to the old republic.

“You know when you get as old as me, you see the same eyes in different people.” Maz laughed as the trio marveled at her office. 

“Come child.” Maz held her hand out Ali. She took it and walked over to the large desk that sat in the middle of the room. 

On the desk sat a large wooden box with intricate carvings on it. Ali marveled at the box, and for some reason, whatever was in it called to her.

Getting onto the chair, Maz climbed onto the desk and sat next to the box. “One of my men found this on the shore of a planet in the Endor system. I’ve had it for some time now but I think it’s about time that you have it.” With that Maz opened the box and Alinas heart just about stopped. 

In the box sat the lightsaber of Kylo Ren. The black hilt of the saber had started to rust and some of the rubber around the exposed wires had started to deteriorate. Even though it was weathered it looked the same as it had in her dream. She looked at Maz with wide eyes. Why was she giving this to her? If she had it for years, why was she now giving it to her? 

“In your eyes my child I see royalty and someone who lost their way,” Maz spoke loud enough for Milo and Shara to hear, “but ended their life finding their way back.”

Milo and Sharas hearts dropped when they saw the infamous lightsaber. Both of them now knew that it was only a matter of time before Alina found out the truth.

“Lina lets go,” Milo spoke in a concerned tone.

She didn’t hear him though. Ali was too enthralled by the lightsaber that laid before her. The saber called to her. It almost sang to her. As if she had known it her whole life. Walking towards it a voice told her to touch it. That she needed to touch the saber to know the truth.

But what was the truth? What exactly would the saber tell her? 

Her instincts were screaming for her to leave. To run away and never look back but Alina knew what she had to do. 

Before she could talk herself out of it, Ali grabbed the saber.

There was a flash of light and all of a sudden she was in a lush green forest. Ali could hear blaster shots behind her. Turning around she saw a younger version of her mother firing at an opening between two rocks. Then out of the space came Kylo Ren. His crackling saber deflected every one of her mother's blows with ease. Rey started to run away, but the monster caught up with her. She tried firing again at him, but he froze her on the spot.

“You’ve seen it.” He spoke in a mechanical voice. “Forget the droid. We have what we need.” With that, he put her mother to sleep and scooped her up into his arms.

The scene changed and Ali was now in an interrogation room. Rey was strapped to an interrogation chair sleeping while Kylo Ren sat there watching her. She woke up with a start.

“Where am I?” Rey asked

“You’re my guest.” He answered. 

She asked where her friends were and he didn’t know where they were. 

“You still want to kill me?” The monster asked.

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re getting chased by a creature in a mask.”

With that Kylo Ren reached up and removed his mask. Ali’s heart sank at the sight of the man underneath the mask. 

It was him. The man from her dreams. Kylo Ren had been the man in her dreams all this time.

She didn’t even have time to process this information because suddenly the scene changed and Ali then stood on a bridge of a ship.

“Ben” she heard an old man's voice from behind her.

“Your son is dead.” Ren sneered.

She could see a mask-less Kylo Ren standing in front of an old man. This was Kylo Ren's father. Ali felt like she knew the older man. There was so much pain between the two of them. Ali could feel the longing and compassion that both of them had for one another, even though their relationship was strained. 

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t think I have the strength to do it.” Kylo Ren said to the man.

All of a sudden the red lightsaber was ignited through the chest of the old man.

“No” she heard the screams of her mother, Uncle Finn, and Uncle Chewie.

Ali took a few steps back, then fell into a pile of snow.

Rey and Kylo Ren were now fighting. Blue lightsaber and Red lightsaber clashed together. Snow fell onto their lightsaber, causing steam to come off of them. 

“You need a teacher!” Kylo yelled to her mother. 

They fought more. Her mother was strong with the force, maybe even stronger than Ren.

Kylo Ren fell to the snow and Rey slashed his face with her saber. There was then a rumble that came from the ground and the earth split. As if the force had stopped the fight from escalating any further. 

The snow was gone and Ali was now in a stone hut. Rey was seated on a stone bed and Kylo sat in a mechanical chair. Both of them looked like they were shocked to see one another.

“You’re not doing this” she heard Ren say “the effort itself would kill you.”

Now she stood on an observation deck of a First Order ship. The pair were Intensely looking at one another.

“You’re a monster.” Rey snarled.

“Yes, I am.” Ren spat back.

The scene then suddenly changed and Ali was in a stone hut. There was a fire going and both of them were sitting around it. 

The tone was different this time. They weren’t fighting, they weren’t making threats to each other. It felt almost calming, peaceful even. If she didn’t know better it seemed as if the pair enjoyed one another’s company. 

“You’re not alone.” His voice was soft. He almost sounded like a different man.

“Neither are you.” Rey had tears starting to stream down her face. She reached her hand out to him and Ren slowly took off his glove, moving his hand towards hers. When their hands met it was like a spark of electricity. It felt as though the force had brought them together. 

“No.” She heard an old man yell. Ali turned around and the stone hut was gone. Everything around her then turned into a red throne room.

Ali got up and watched as six guards dressed in red surrounded her mother and Ren. They’re working together? Ali thought. But why are they working together?

Ali had never seen her mother in battle before and seeing her fight alongside Kylo Ren was almost like watching a work of art being created. 

The fighting stopped and the battle was won. He walked towards her, offering her his hand. 

“You’re nothing,” he spat out, “but not to me.”

Rey was starting to reach her hand out to take his hand but instead, she tried and reached for the saber that he had on him. Both of them were fighting for the saber, but once again the force broke the saber in half with a large flash. Separating them once again.

She next found herself on a metal wreckage in the middle of a sea. Water splashed everywhere around her. Once again Rey and Kylo Ren were fighting again. This time though it looked like Kylo was going to win. Rey was on her knees trying to deflect Rens blows. Then all of a sudden Kylo stopped as though something had caught him off guard. He dropped his lightsaber, but before it could hit the ground Rey caught it and stabbed the crackling saber through his abdomen.

Then Rey felt something in the force that caused her to turn off the saber. Ali could sense all of the pain, and especially regret that her mother was feeling at that very moment. She watched Rey kneel next to Ren and heal the wound that she had given him. Rey even healed the scar that she had left on his face.

I didn’t know she could do that. Ali had been training alongside her mother for years but she never mentioned to her that you could heal someone with the force. 

“I wanted to take your hand” Rey had tears streaming down her face, “Ben's hand”

Ali could feel tears welling in her eyes. Her mother loved this man. Rey loved Kylo Ren …..no.. Ben Solo more than anything and Ali knew it. 

Ali was then standing in a room of rubble. It was dark and cold. She saw her mother's lifeless lying on the cold ground. Ali knew what was supposed to happen next but it felt different. In the corner of her eye she saw him, Ben, crawling up the side of a pit. She watched as he struggled to get up and come to her mother's aid. 

He went to her, checked her pulse and cradled her in his arms. 

Ben loved her too. Ali could feel tears starting to well in her eyes.

Ali walked slowly towards them, she didn’t want the scene to change again. She watched as Ben took his hand and placed it onto Rey’s stomach. 

When Ben closed his eyes, Ali could feel the force pulsating around him. She felt him put everything he had into her. Giving her his whole life. All of his love. All of his compassion to bring her back to life.

It wasn’t the force that brought mom back, Ali choked back a sob, it was him.

Rey’s eyes then opened and propped herself up.

“Ben.” Rey’s voice was so happy. She had been waiting for years to find someone like him. Someone that she could love. Someone that she could call her home. Her family. Someone that she could find belonging in. 

When Rey kissed Ben, Ali's heart lept from her chest. This was one of my dreams. The force was trying to show me my …

When the kiss broke both of them were smiling. She loved him and he loved her back. For once in both of their lives, they had something, someone to call their own. But the force is cruel and had other plans.

The air all of a sudden then shifted. Bens smile faded and his eyes closed as he fell back to the cold stone floor. 

No Ali screamed. She tried to run towards her mother and father but before she could reach them Ali was back in Mazs office.

  
Ali looked down at the lightsaber in her hands. She felt as though she was about to faint from what she had just experienced. It felt as though she had been hit by a blaster shot straight through the chest. Bursting into tears she fell to her knees. Her throat burned as she let out a loud sob. 

Every emotion seemed as though it was hitting her all at once. Anger towards her mother for not telling her about him. Pain for the loss of a man that she would never get to know. Most importantly she felt so much love for him. For Ben. Her father.

For the first time in eighteen years, Ali finally knew the truth and it had been under her nose the whole time. The force was trying to tell her since she was eight who her father was. A part of her didn’t want to believe it but she knew it was true. Ali had always known the truth. 

Milo ran to Ali’s side. “What’s wrong?” He wrapped an arm around her.

“He loved her.” she gasped for air, “He loved her so much that he…” another sob as more tears streamed down her face, “he sacrificed himself…” she looked up at Milo “for her.”

At that point, Milo knew that Alina knew the truth. He pulled her into his chest as she continued to cry. His heart truly broke for her. He wasn’t sure what she saw, but whatever it was had given her the answers she desired about her dream and most importantly about her father. 

After some time Milo looked up to Shara. The poor girl didn’t know what to do. She had wanted to run over and throw her arms around her friends. Instead, she stood there in shock. Watching as Ali heaved into Milo's chest. Ali had never been one to show a great deal of emotion. Yet here she was bawling her eyes out for the whole galaxy to see.

“Shara, I need you to tell Rey that something has happened. I’m taking Ali back to her apartment. Have Rey and our parents meet us there. Okay?” 

“Ok.” Shara nodded her head. Milo could see the tears staining her cheeks as she left the office. 

With Shara gone, Milo scooped Ali into his arms. He was nearly out the door when Maz stopped him.

“Milo, wait.” the woman cried out, “I thought Rey would have…. I thought Ali would have known the truth by now. I’m so sorry.”

Milo looked down at the Maz and just nodded his head in agreement. A part of him wanted to tell her off, but he had a more pressing matter to deal with. 

Shara was out of breath by the time she ran back into the large ballroom. 

“Well, there’s one of them.” Poe smiled when he saw his daughter. He was standing with Finn, Rose, and Rey at their table. Paige had fallen asleep and the young girl slept peacefully in her father’s arms. They were waiting for the kids to come back before they went their separate ways to go home. Although as soon as Poe saw his daughters face, he knew that the wonderful night had shifted to something horrible.

“Shara, baby what’s wrong?” Worry flowed through Poe’s voice.

“It’s Ali.” Shara looked at Rey through teary eyes.

“What happened to Ali?” Rey walked over to Shara taking her hand.

Shara choked back a sob “I don’t know. She touched this lightsaber and then all of a sudden she was crying, and she was saying that….” Shara couldn’t even bring herself to finish what she was saying.

“What lightsaber did she touch?” Finn asked.

“No” Rey whispered. Memories flooded her of when she had touched Anikins saber on Takodana. She knew who’s saber her daughter touched.

“Shara, whose lightsaber did Ali touch?” Poe saw the fear in his daughter's eyes.

“It was _his_ , Poe,” Rey answered for Shara. The young girl just nodded as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Where are Milo and Ali now?” Rose came over and started rubbing Sharas back in hopes to calm her down.

“They went to Rey and Ali’s apartment. Milo said that all of us should meet them there.” 

The adults didn’t say anything. They nodded their heads in agreement and quickly grabbed their belongings. 

Rey’s head was spinning with questions. How did she get the lightsaber? What exactly did she see? How much did Ali know? 

She couldn’t believe this was happening. Tears started to well her eyes. Rey had tried for years to keep this secret from her daughter to protect her, but now her whole world was turned upside down. Now she was going to have to confront Ali and tell her the truth about her father, and Rey wasn’t sure if she was ready. She could already see her daughters teary eyes and hear her sobs as she told Ali all about her father.

“Come on, Rey.” Rose took Rey’s hand breaking her from her thoughts. 

“I don’t think I can do this, Rose.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, “How am I going to be able to face her when she already knows so much of the truth?”

“You can do this because we’ll be there for you,” Rose reassured, squeezing Rey’s hand.

With that, the group left the senatorial and headed to Rey’s apartment. She knew that facing Ali wasn’t going to be easy, but she knew that her friends would be by her side to help her get through it. 


	6. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! It's a day late, but are we surprised? No. Also, I'm really sorry about how bad the last chapter was. I have a friend that reads over them to make sure that the grammar and everything is ok because I am the tweet about biology majors not being able to write anything. I thought that she had read over it, but didn't. It's my fault though because I should have asked her before posting it.  
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you guys think!!

Ali felt numb. Her and Milo had been home for only a few minutes and it felt like she had been sitting here for hours. She was still crying, but not as hard as she had been. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, ruining the makeup that she wore for the gala. The hair that she painstaking braided and had placed flowers in was drooping. Only a few flowers remained, but they were barely holding on. The dress that she wore looked as though it’s beautiful green hue had muted and now looked more like swamp water. Her appearance matched how she felt on the inside, disheveled and broken. 

Milo sat next to her rubbing circles on her back. He didn’t ask her any questions or try to comfort her with words of encouragement. He let Ali cry it out. That’s what she needed to do though, right? Ali never cried. She never let her emotions get the best of her. At least she tried not to get too emotional in front of anyone except herself. Why did she keep her emotions so locked in though? It wasn’t like Rey kept her emotions in or made her padawans be emotionless. Ali did though. She kept her emotions in until she popped. _I wonder if he was like that?_ She thought.

What was her father like? What was Ben like? In the short blips that Ali saw of him, he was gentle. She saw compassion in his eyes and love in his heart when he looked at her mom. Even though Kylo Ren and Ben were the same person, Ali knew the difference. Kylo Ren was a cold-hearted man who only cared about himself, but Ben was none of those things. What she saw of him was completely different from that monster. Something deep inside of Ali knew that Ben was a good man and she wanted to believe it _._ She truly did, but knowing that he had a dark past made her uneasy.

Her thoughts drifted to her mother. How could she keep this secret from her for so long? Was her mom afraid that she would find the darkness in herself? That she would end up like him? A monster? That is what she called him, isn’t it? She called him ‘ _A creature in a mask’_ too. 

All Ali ever asked for years was just who her father was. She wanted to know his name, what he was like, what he did, and she wouldn’t give it to her for eighteen years. Then tonight of all nights, nineteen years after his death she is given the saber of his dark alter ego. Just the night before she had a nightmare of her wielding the saber she now clutched in her hands. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe she was destined to be an evil monster?

She was taken from her thoughts as she heard the hydraulic door of the apartment open. 

“Ail” her mother cried out. Rey ran down the hall to the living room. When she saw her daughter sitting on the couch she immediately went to her, kneeling down in front of her. Ali was looking at the lightsaber that belonged to her father so intently. Tears dripped from her eyes falling onto the saber.

“Alina, baby, look at me.” Ali lifted her chin and Rey’s heart broke into a million pieces. She had never seen Ali so upset before. It looked as though all of the light had been drained from her eyes. Ali let out a sob when she made eye contact with her mother. She felt so betrayed by Rey. Ali and her mom were close. How could she keep this from her?

“Is it true?” Ali sobbed, “is he?” she was trying to find the words, “is Kylo Ren?” another sob, “is Ben?” she corrected herself, “is he my father?”

Tears were streaming down Rey's face now. She nodded and laid a hand on top of the lightsaber. 

“His name was Ben Solo,” Rey looked up at Ali, “and I loved him more than anything.”

“Tell me about him.” Ali’s voice cracked “No more keeping secrets. No more lies. Tell me the truth.”

Rey told Alina everything. Every piece of information that she knew about Ben. She told her about Han, Leia, and Luke. She told her about Snoke and Palpatine. Rey told her about their force connection and the Dyad. Rey spilled her heart out for her daughter and to everyone that now sat in their living room. Ali didn’t ask any questions or interject. She just sat there letting everything sink in.

“I’ve been seeing him for years,” Ali spoke in a hushed tone after her mother finished. “I’ve been having dreams since I was a little girl, and I had no idea he was my father.” She looked at her father’s saber and another tear rolled down her cheek.

“Ali, why didn’t you tell me that you had been seeing him?” Rey asked in a concerned tone.

Ali’s eyes shot up at her mother and she was seeing red.

“Why didn’t I tell you?” She had never been so angry, “Why didn’t you tell me about him? He was my father and I had every right to know the truth.”

Ali got up and started pacing the center of the small living room in attempts to calm herself down. 

“I did want to tell you Ali and you do deserve to know but…”

“But what mom?” She pointed the lightsaber hilt towards Rey. Her eyes went wide as she looked up at her daughter. Ali could feel the fear pulsating off of her mother and everyone else in the room. 

“Oh, that’s why.” A realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “You’re afraid that I’ll turn out like him. Isn’t it?” 

“No… no, Ali that’s not why.” Rey stuttered. 

“Yes, it is!” Ali practically shouted, “You see the same anger in my eyes that you saw in Kylo Ren's eyes. That’s why you never told me. You don’t want me to turn to the dark side.”

Rey let out a deep sigh. “Ali it’s been my biggest fear since I found out I was pregnant with you.” She got up and took the saber from Ali. Memories started flooding Rey’s mind of what had happened the last time she held this saber. “The beginning of Ben’s fall into the darkness started when he found out that Darth Vader was his grandfather. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to you learning the truth about your father.”

“Mom, Ben fell because he had been tormented by your grandfather since he was an infant. He was convinced that his family didn’t love him because that’s what Palpatine told him.” Ali started pacing again, “Do you really think that I would fall so quickly mom? Do you have so little faith in me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying…” Rey sighed.

“Yes, mom it is what you’re saying.” Her voice was shrill, “I know that you love me. I know that I have Uncle Poe, Uncle Finn and Aunt Rose to be there for me. I know that Shara and Milo will always have my back no matter what happens to me. Just because my father fell to the dark does not mean that I will.”

“I know that Ali.” Rey’s eyes welled with tears, “I know that you are strong and level headed. I should have told you everything sooner, but I wasn’t ready to tell you.” The room had gone silent again. 

“I have something that I’ve actually wanted to give you for a long time.” Rey left the room and came back a minute later holding a small box, and handed it to Ali. “These belonged to your grandfather, Han, they were his good luck charm.” Ali opened the box to reveal two gold dice on a chain. “I had them made into a necklace a few years back. I planned on giving them to you when I told you about your father. I know that both of them would have wanted you to have them.”

“So what? You think that giving me some dice on a chain would make up for keeping my father a secret to me for eighteen years?” Ali’s tone was harsh.

Rey opened her mouth to talk, but Ali wasn’t done yet.

“It doesn’t, mom. It doesn’t soften the blow in the slightest.” Ali threw the necklace on the floor. “Mom, I didn’t care who he was. I didn’t care if he was a good or bad person. He could have literally been a nobody from nowhere and you know what, even though he was one of the darkest of human beings I still don’t care. I just wanted to know who he was.” 

“The worst part of this is knowing that all of you knew who he was and you didn’t tell me.” Her eyes darted to her Uncles and Aunt. Finn sat in a recliner still holding Paige (who was now wide awake), Rose was sitting on the arm of the recliner and Poe was sitting in an armchair. Each of them having a sheepish look on their faces. “I have asked some of you multiple times about my father. Hell, I even asked one of you this very morning, and you blatantly lied to me.” She pointed to Poe.

“It wasn’t our story to tell you, Ali.” Finn sighed defending himself.

“If I could have told you this morning Lina, I would have,” Poe admitted.

“We all would have.” Milo and Shara said in unison. 

Ali turned to the two of them with wide eyes. Shara had found a seat on the floor next to Milos feet. Ali could see the regret in her eyes, but was too upset to even care.

“The two of you knew? For how long?!”

“My dad told me this morning after you left. I told Milo because I thought he should know. We were going to tell you tonight after the gala. I should have told you as soon as I found out. I’m so sorry.” Poe gave Shara a disappointed look.

“I can't believe this is happening.” Ali put her face in her hands. She took a few deep breaths in trying to calm herself down, but it wasn’t working. The room had gone silent. Too afraid that if they said anything she would snap on them. 

“If he’s dead, why hasn’t he come to me?” Ali asked, breaking the silence. “I’ve read about force ghosts. If he had come back to the light when he died he should have become one with the force. So why hasn’t he visited me as a force ghost?”

Rey had to think about what she was about to say next very carefully. She had never told anyone about the possibility of Ben not being entirely dead. 

“Well, there is a chance that he might not be dead.” Rey’s voice was shaking.

“What do you mean?” Ali’s voice was a mix of being in shock and anger. “I saw him die with my own two eyes.”

“So did I. His body disappeared and I thought he had become one with the force.” Rey took a step towards her daughter, “When I found out that I was pregnant with you, Leia came to me. I asked her if Ben was with her and she told me that he wasn’t. She and Luke believe that he might be stuck in a place between worlds.” She took her daughters' hands.

“After I had you, l went in search to find it, the world between worlds but it led me down a path that would have taken me away from you.” A tear rolled down Rey’s cheek. “I couldn’t abandon you as my parents had done to me. Even if it was to save me. I couldn’t do the same to you.”

“So you're telling me that there is a possibility that he could come back? That I could bring my father back?” There was an excitement in her voice. 

“No, Ali it’s a suicide mission. I can’t lose you too.” Rey’s voice broke, “I can’t lose another person that I love.”

“But mom, what if I bring him back?” Ali’s eyes lit up with a mix of excitement and anger, “What if I can bring him back and then we can be the family that we were destined to be?”

“No, Ali, I can’t let you do this.” Rey’s voice was stern.

“If you don’t let me do this I’ll hate you and never forgive you.” The excitement had faded from her voice, now only anger was shone through it.

Rey couldn’t even say anything. The two of them never fought and if they did it was over something silly that could be resolved in a matter of seconds. This fight was different though and both of them knew it. Their relationship would never be the same again.

“Somewhere my father is out there and I will find him even if it’s the last thing that I do.” Ali went to storm off, but was stopped by Milo, and did something that she didn’t even think she was capable of. 

“Lina, wait, let’s try and…” Milo got up in hopes to stop her from storming out. Ali motioned her hand just to push him back down on the couch but something overcame her. Something that Ali didn’t even know she could do. The next thing she knew, she was choking Milo. His hands flew to his throat, trying to grab at the phantom hands. There was an uproar of screams from everyone in the room. Ali immediately pulled her hand away once she realized what was happening. She looked down at her hand in horror as Milo collapsed to his knees. 

Tears started forming again, “Maybe I am just a monster.” Ali ran out of the room and out the front door.

“Ali wait!” Rey called after her daughter.

“Let her go.” Milo gasped. Rose and Shara were helping him up to his feet. Once on his feet, Paige jumped from her father’s lap and hugged her brother's legs.

“Are you ok?” Finn asked worried as he got up from his seat.

Milo simply nodded. He patted his sister on the head in hopes to calm her down but wrapped her arms tighter around his legs. “I’m ok, Paigie I promise.”

“Come here, Paige,” Rose said in a sweet voice as she took her daughter into her arms.

“We should go after her,” Shara said to Milo.

He took a step then realized that he had hit something with his foot. Looking down Milo saw the necklace that Ali had abandoned on the floor. Bending down, he took the necklace in his hand. Rolling the dice in his hands he looked at Rey who was still standing in shock at the entrance to the living room.

He wanted to say so much to her. Milo knew that Rey had every right to keep this secret from Ali but she should have told her sooner. He wanted to tell her off. He wanted to rip into her and make her feel like garbage for doing this to Ali. His Ali. As much as he wanted to say so many horrible things to her, he couldn’t do that to Rey. Besides, Rey would probably never want Ali to see him again even if they were in a relationship.

“Come on.” He motioned Shara with his head. The pair left the apartment without saying a word to any of their parents. 

————————————————

Shara and Milo got to the landing platform as fast as they could. They found Ali’s spreader parked by the ladder that led to the roof. When they reached the roof they found Ali laying on the ground staring up at the stars. As they got closer they noticed that there was a half-empty bottle of Jet juice sitting next to her. 

“Hey, sweetie.” Shara gave Ali a teary smile looking down at her friend. She had never seen her friend look so broken and it broke her heart to see her like this.

There were still tears falling from Alinas eyes. Her breath was still hiccuping and breathing heavily. Ali sat up as she looked at her friends “I’ve wanted to know about my dad for years,” She laughed through the pain and more tears started streaming down her face, “but at what cost.” Her intoxicated laughter had stopped and now she was sobbing.

“Oh, Alina.” Milo ran to her and took her into his arms. “Shhh, let it all out.” He whispered as he kissed her head. 

It wasn’t long before Shara joined in on the hug. They sat there for a long time just wrapped in each other’s arms. 

“I have to go find him,” Ali whispered after she had calmed herself down. She had her head on Milo's chest and listened contently to his heart beating.

“Milo, I have to go get him.” She said it more seriously this time. Her brown met his and he knew that she was being serious. Ali wasn’t the type of girl to not follow through with her plans. Whenever she put her mind to something she always followed through. She had been this way since they were kids. Always determined and never quit whenever things got tough. That was probably one of his favorite things about her.

“I know you're going to do it even if I give you a million reasons not to.” He smiled down at her,

“At least let us come with you.” Sharas face was beaming at her friends, “One last adventure.”

“One last adventure.” Ali nodded her head. She took Sharas hand and squeezed it tightly. 

“So what’s the plan?” Milo asked with a broad grin on his face. 

“Do you even have an idea of where to look for him?” Shara leaned back resting her hands on the ground.

“Well, I have an idea,” Ali said as she got up. “But I’ll have to look at the Jedi texts. They're at my house though so I’m gonna have to get those and some other things before we can leave.” She kept rambling talking about all of the things she would have to get and bring. Milo and Shara laughed as he went on and on. Even though she was broken and distraught, Alina didn’t show it. She was almost giddy, as if she were a little girl again. “We finally get to go on our own adventure guys, isn't this just exciting.” 

“So what do you want us to do?” Shara got up and pulled Milo up.

“Meet me here in an hour and a half. Don’t tell your parents you are coming. They can’t know. I don’t want them coming after us and bringing us back home. Get here as fast as you can so we can leave.” Ali looked up at the stars with so much longing, “Somewhere my dads out there and I’m going to find him. Even if it kills me.”

Finally, she had a chance, an opportunity to bring her dad back. That she would finally be able to have a father and to see her mother to be happy and to be in love. That’s what her mom deserved. She deserved to finally have someone to love and love her back. 

“I know,” Milo said as he walked over to Ali putting an arm on her shoulder. “and I would follow you to the edge of the galaxy Alina Skywalker.” He wanted to tell her that he loved her but it wasn’t the time. It didn’t feel right. 

She smiled up at him and shook her head. “No Milo, Alina Skywalker is gone,” he looked at her with confused wide eyes, “but Alina Solo will rise from her ashes.” 

“To Alina Solo,” Shara lifted the half-full bottle of Jet juice into the air, “may she be the baddest bitch in the galaxy and an even bigger pain in the ass.” She took a long swig then passed the bottle to Milo. 

“May she never lose sight of what she truly believes in.” He took a swig and handed it to Ali.

“May I always have the two of you to support me in everything that I do. Even if my ideas are stupid and could end badly.” She laughed and took a swig. Her friends were her rider or die. Ali had been there for each of them whenever they needed her. Now it was her turn. Whether she was able to do it or not she had them. They would be there for her no matter what happened. She took another long drag of the bottle, finished it and threw it to the ground.

“Now, let’s go bring my dad back.”


	7. Some Things Never Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! First off I want to say Happy International Women's Day to all of the lovely ladies out there!! Second, I want to thank you guys for being so supportive and loving what I have written so far. It makes me feel so warm and cozy knowing that there are people out there that enjoy it just as much as I have loved writing it. I hope you guys enjoy what I have for you tonight and have a great rest of your week!!!

The apartment was in complete darkness when she opened the door. Ali quietly crosses the threshold of the kitchen trying as hard as possible not to make any noise. She removed her heels and quietly padded down the hallway to her room. Her dress came off easier than it had come on. Using the force, the zipper of the dress came down and she slipped out of it with ease. The dress fell around her in a pile of tulle. Stepping out of the dress, she picked it up carefully and laid it neatly on her bed. 

She got dressed quickly. Putting on a pair of dark green pants and a tight grey cropped sweater. Ali put a few changes of clothes into her backpack and a few other things that she would maybe need. Looking in the mirror, she was able to take out what few flowers that were left in her hair and undid the braids that held back her bangs. Ali quickly took her long hair and put it into a single braid. She then scurried around her room to retrieve her blaster and lightsaber. When she found them she carefully placed them on their designated spots on her hip and thigh. 

Grabbing her jacket and a scarf, Ali took one last look at her bedroom. It wasn’t a large room. There was a bed big enough for at least two people, a desk with a chair, a dresser with a mirror on it, a small closet, and a bookshelf full of books and treasures that she had accumulated throughout her 18 years. It wasn’t much but she didn’t need anything fancy. She would miss this room, her home, and most importantly her family. 

It wasn’t a conventional idea of a family but her mother, her friends, her aunt, and uncles were all that she needed. 

Then she found out that there was a chance that her father could be alive. She had never really wanted a dad, or felt like she was deprived of not having one. Ali was happy with just having her mom. She loved her mom more than anything, even when she was angry with her. There was a time when she was younger when she would see Shara and Milo interact with their dads, and she would long to have a dad too. As Ali got older though those feelings subsided. She found her father figures in her uncle’s and that was all that she needed. That was until tonight. Now for the first time ever she wanted a dad, She wanted her dad. Ali wanted to have her father back and most importantly she wanted to bring him back for her mom.

Her mom had never been with any other man. Ali always thought it was because she was too busy with the temple and being a single parent. The truth of it all though was that she would never love another man more than Ben Solo. As much as Ali wanted to bring him back for herself, she wanted to bring him back for her mom. Her mom deserved that, she deserved to be with the man that she loved. They deserved each other and Ali was going to do everything in her power to make that happen. 

Taking one last look at her bedroom she headed down the hallway. While Ali was passing her mom's room she noticed that the door was open. She quietly walked in trying not to wake her up. Rey was sleeping on top of the covers. She must have been crying when she fell asleep because there were still tears on her cheeks. Ali gasped when she noticed what her mom was wearing to bed. It was the shirt that Ben had worn the day he died. She had never seen the shirt before, yet here it was in front of her. The hole that had been created when Rey had stabbed him was still there and the saber that had done the deed sat on the nightstand. 

Ali hadn’t intended on taking her father's saber but it still called to her. Maybe it was a piece of him that was inside of Ali that made her want to take it. Besides, he was going to need a lightsaber when she brought him back. She took a step forward and heard a small crunch. Her eyes went wide and flew to her mother. Rey shifted slightly in her sleep but she stayed sleeping. Looking down Ali noticed that one of the flowers that had been in her hair had somehow managed to get into her mom's room. The little white flower was flattened perfectly. Ali picked it up and when she removed the saber form it’s spot she replaced it with the flower. She quietly left the room and placed her father's saber next to her own on her hip. Before crossing the threshold she looked back at her mother's sleeping body.

“I’ll bring him back. I promise.” She whispered. 

With that Ali continued down the hallway and headed towards the living room. In the center of the bookshelf sat the ancient Jedi texts. She hadn’t studied them as much as her mother had, but she remembered reading a part about the world between worlds in them. Hopefully, the books would have answers about where she needed to go to get there and find her father. Carefully, Ali removed the books from the shelf and placed them carefully into her bag. Only a few hours ago she was in this room learning about her father and now she was about to leave on a journey that would change her life forever.

Ali left the apartment without turning back. She couldn’t stay any longer. If she did, Ali would be turning back and would not want to go on this mission, but she had too. Ali needed to do this for all three of them. 

———————————————————

When Ali got back to the landing platform Shara was already there preparing the Falcon for their trip. BB8 spun around Ali’s feet when the droid saw her. Ali wasn’t surprised to see the droid, Poe had given Shara BB8 a few years back. Now, she brought him on every adventure that the two girls had been on. It would have shocked her if BB wasn’t coming on the trip too. 

“How does she look?” Ali asked looking up at her mother's ship.  _ Technically her grandfathers and fathers ship. _ She had probably spent more time on this ship than she did anywhere else. The Falcon was a second home to Ali. She learned how to fly a ship by flying the Falcon.  _ I wonder if he learned the same way that I had? _

“She’s ready whenever Milo gets here,” Shara answered taking Ali out of her thoughts. “Where is he anyway? All of us left at the same time.”

“I don’t know, maybe his parents were up and he had to come up with something to get out of the house. I'm sure he'll be here soon though.” Ali sighed, “I’m gonna go put my stuff in the ship.”

“Ok, I’ll be right in,” Shara yelled back as she finished the exterior checks to the ship.

As Ali walked onto the ship she felt a million emotions hit her at once. This ship had belonged to Han Solo for decades. Ali knew a few things about him. That he was a smuggler turned General and that he had died on Star Killer base. That was all that she knew about him. 

Today though, she learned that he was her grandfather and that this ship was her legacy. Not because the ship was her moms but because it was her grandfathers too. She placed her bag on the floor and headed towards the cockpit. Walking down the corridor, her heart was pounding. For some reason, she was so nervous. Why would she need to be so nervous? She had been on this ship more times than she could count, but now after learning everything about her family's past being on this ship made her emotional. 

This ship had practically gone through hell and back. Not only did this ship make the Kessel Run but it had been a part of two galactic wars and countless other adventures. Some ending in success and others ending horribly. 

As hopeful as Ali was that this adventure would end in success, there was also a tinge of fear in the pit of her stomach. Her mother said that if she had gone and brought Ben back then it would leave Ali an orphan, but would this trip also end her life? Would she leave her mother all alone without her daughter and the love of her life? 

Ali couldn’t think about that though. She wasn’t going to die and she was going to bring her father back. 

The cockpit looked the same as it always had and always would. It would forever slightly smell like burning rubber and electric fire, from constant malfunctions. She thought of all of the battles and adventures that this ship has seen and all of the adventures she would have for years to come.  _ I wonder what kind of adventures my father had on this ship?  _ Ali asked herself. 

Ali herself had been on plenty of adventures on this ship with Milo and Shara. They had all been day trips with low chances of anything to go wrong. That was except for the few times Shara wanted to take the Falcon to illegal races. Those races were incredibly dangerous and got the two of them into plenty of arguments with older, more experienced, but very jealous pilots. Of course, they won the races though because after all, this was the fastest ship in the galaxy. Otherwise, all of their impromptu adventures had gone swimmingly. Why wouldn’t this one go just as well?

“Well, well, well look who finally decided to show up.” Ali heard Shara yelling from outside. 

Ali looked outside to see Milo walking towards the ship with two duffle bags. She knew that he would eventually show up. Milo was never the one to back out of a good adventure, even if he knew that they were dangerous. 

She quickly ran out of the cockpit and out of the ship. Her face lit up when she saw Milo and his face did the same. Dropping his bags he ran to her and when they met halfway he brought her into a big hug. When he lifts her off of the ground Ali let out the cutest little scream that Milo couldn't help but laugh.

“You came,” Ali smiled up to him once he placed her back on the ground.

“What, did you think I wouldn’t show up?” Milo laughed.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Shara yelled as she got off of the ship. 

“No, we didn’t,” Ali looked back and gave Shara a dirty look. Ali rolled her eyes, “Well, I didn't.” She reassured him by giving him a quick peck on the cheek. 

As much as he knew that this trip would be different and it would probably change his life as he knew it, he needed to be there for Alina. Her entire life was turned upside down a few hours ago, he knew that she would try and attempt to act like she was fine. Ali would probably put on a pretty good show by concealing whatever she was feeling. He would be able to see through it though. 

“So what took you so long?” Shara asked joining her friends, “Did you get cold feet?”

“No,” He gave Shara a pointed look, “I got caught by my mom when I was trying to leave.”

“Where did you tell her you were going?” Ali asked nervously. 

“I told her that I was meeting you and Shara at her house because the three of us needed to be together tonight.”

“And she bought that?” Ali was surprised.

“Actually yeah,” he laughed, “I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“I can’t believe we're actually doing this.” Ali looked between her two friends, “I hope the two of you know what you're getting yourself into.”

“Not really, but like we said earlier. Were in this with you till the very end. No matter what happens.” Shara reassured, “The Falcon is ready to go whenever you are ready.”

“The sooner we leave the sooner I’ll finally be able to meet my dad, so let's go.” Alina could feel the excitement in her voice, and she was so excited to finally have the chance to finally meet her father. 

“Alright, I’ll go turn the ship on and I’ll meet you two lovebirds inside.” With that Shara and BB8 headed up the ramp.

“Are you ready for this?” Milo grabbed one of his bags and Ali took the other.

“No,” She laughed and took Milos hand into hers, "but I have never wanted something so much in my whole life, so I should start getting ready.” 

When Ali and Milo walked into the cockpit Shara was already giving BB orders. The little orange and white droid raced past the couples’ feet, and Ali gave Shara a worried look. 

“Don’t worry, there's nothing wrong with the ship.” Shara reassured her friend, “I just have him checking everything one last time.”

“Good.” Ali smiled at her friend.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Shara asked as Ali started to head towards the Co-Pilot seat. “You’re piloting this trip. It’s your ship anyway.”

“What? No, I’m not piloting.” Ali laughed like it was a joke, but the look on her two friends faces said it all, “Are you sure?” 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Shara was always the pilot even though she was the youngest. When they were younger and learning to fly Shara always insisted that she was the one to fly. “This is your mission, Lina. You are flying this ship whether you like it or not.”

A wide smile grew across Ali’s face. She slowly sat down in the pilot's seat. Ali had sat in this seat before, but sitting down in it now felt almost like a religious experience. As though her whole life was leading to this one moment. Her fingers danced across the control panel, hitting the correct buttons to start the ship.

“So, where to first?” Milo asked as he followed her movements. 

“Ahch-To.”

“Isn’t that where your mom trained with Luke Skywalker?” Shara asked as she hit the buttons over her head. 

“Yeah,” Ali stopped what she was doing to look between her friends, “and it’s also one of the locations where one can get access to the world between worlds.”

“Then we’ll go to Ahch-To.” Milo nodded and started to put in the coordinates to the island covered planet. 

“Have you ever been there?” Shara settled into her seat and placed her seatbelt across her lap.

“No, I haven’t but I’ve heard plenty about it though. It’s supposed to be very powerful in the force though. So hopefully if I can’t get into the world between worlds there I might find answers to where I can get there.” 

The Falcon was completely out of the landing platform. The three of them looked up in awe at the starry night sky. They were going on a mission that they had no idea what the outcome could be. They were nervous and excited all at the same time. Finally, the three of them were going on their own adventure like their parents had years prior. Each of them felt like this adventure that they were going on was going to prove themselves as something.

For Shara, she wanted to prove to her father that she wasn’t a little girl anyway and could make it on her own as a pilot. 

Milo wanted to prove to Ali that he was 100% devoted to her, even if this was an insane idea. 

Ali needed to prove herself worthy of her family name. She needed to prove to herself that she was worthy to bear such an infamous name in the galaxy. Most importantly she needed to prove it herself.

“Ready?” Milos hand was already on the hyperdrive lever. 

“Ready.”

And with the blink of an eye, they were surrounded in a sea of blue as stars raced past them.

———————————————————

Rey woke with a start. Something had happened. Something was wrong.

Looking to her nightstand she noticed that Ben's lightsaber was no longer where she put it. Now only a single white flower sat in its place. 

“No, no, no, no, no.” Rey frantically yelled as she sprang out of bed and rushed to the living room. Her heart sank when she looked at the bookshelf that once held the sacred Jedi texts was now empty. A sob ripped through her and she collapsed to the floor. 

_ How could she do this to me?  _ Rey screamed in her head. She couldn’t bear to lose Ali like she had lost Ben. Ali was never a defiant child. Of all the things that her daughter had to disobey her on it had to be this one? Rey knew where this path would lead Ali. She knew all of the pain and agony that her daughter would have to go through. 

Rey would lose her daughter just as she had lost the love of her life. Both of them dying to save the people that they loved.

“Be with her.” Rey sobbed into the dark room. It had been years since she had been visited by Leia, Luke or any of the other force ghosts. If there was any time that she and Ali needed guidance from the force it was now. “I can’t lose her like I lost him. Please, be with my daughter.”

Letting out a shaky breath she pleaded again. “Please... be with our daughter.”


	8. The Mirrored Cave

The sun was just starting to rise when Rey had enough strength to get off of the living room floor. She had spent the rest of the night laying on the floor thinking about Ali, remembering Ben, and wondering if she would ever see either of them again. Her mind was racing. She wondered where Ali and the rest of the kids were now. There were only two places where they could have gone, but only one would give them access to the world between worlds. Would they have gone there first? Were they already there? Were they safe? Was Ali ok?

_Of course, Ali isn’t okay,_ Rey huffed as she propped herself up on the front of the couch. Ali would probably never speak to her ever again and she had every right not to. For eighteen years she kept Ben a secret. Everything about him was a mystery to Ali, and for what? To protect Ali? To protect herself? 

Rey would never forget the first time Alina had asked about her father. She was only five years old and Rey had known that this day would come eventually, but when it did, it took her by surprise. 

\------------------------------------------------------------

**Six and a half years after the battle of Exegol**

“Momma, why don’t I have a daddy?” Ali’s sweet voice rang in Rey's ears. She had just gotten her energetic daughter ready for bed and was in the process of choosing a bedtime story for her when she asked the question that she was dreading to hear. Rey’s eyes seemed to glisten instantly with tears. She had known that this day would come eventually. When her little girl would ask about her father. Rey hadn’t even decided what she was going to tell Alina. She was far too young to know the truth about Ben. She would eventually tell her the truth, but now wasn’t the right time. She wondered if it would ever be the right time. 

“What do you mean, baby?” Rey spun around holding one of Alina’s favorite books in her hand **.** She blinked away the tears that had accumulated in her eyes and wiped away any that had fallen down her cheek.

Alina sat up in her bed and sighed. She was only five, but kriff did she act older than what she really was. 

“Well, Shara and Milo both have daddies, but I don’t.” her big brown eyes looked up at her mother the same way that her father had over six and a half years ago, “Why don’t I have one?”

“Well, it’s not that you don’t have one, Ali,” Rey had to choose her words wisely, “you do have a daddy. Everyone has a daddy, it's just that…” Rey could feel her throat start to close as her emotions were starting to get the best of her. 

“Is he gone like Shara’s momma?” The young girl asked.

Rey nodded her head holding back tears, “Yeah, baby, he’s gone.” She could see grief wash over Ali’s face and laid a hand on her daughter's cheek, wiping away a stray tear. “He would have loved you though, my sweet girl.” 

“Really?” Alina’s dark eyes lit up as if Rey had given her a gift that she had been asking her for years, “Can you tell me about him?” 

“Not tonight, baby,” Rey gave her daughter a sad smile as she ran her fingers through Ali’s dark curls, “but I will when you are older.”

“You pinky promise?” The young girl asked as she lifted her small finger.

“I pinky promise.” Rey laughed curling her finger around her daughters. 

“Do you still want me to read you a story?” 

“No, I just want to go to bed.” Ali scooched back down under the covers and let out a yawn.

“Ok,” Rey nodded her head and placed the book on her daughter's nightstand, “Goodnight Sweetheart, I love you.”

“Goodnight, momma. I love you too.”

She kissed her daughter on the four head and turned the light off. As the door closed behind her, Rey let her suppressed emotions get the best of her. Tears started streaming down her cheeks and the tiniest of sobs broke through her lips. She went into her bedroom and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. Underneath a pile of neutral colored sweaters resided one of her only pieces of black clothing. 

She picked up the sweater, feeling it’s surprisingly soft material. There had been a point in time where she would wear this sweater to bed almost every single night. Now she used it more as a security blanket whenever she was having a rough day or missing Ben. She put the large sweater over her small frame and wrapped her arms around herself. Surprisingly it still smelled like him even though it had been washed several times. It was the only thing that she had of him and would probably be wearing it until her dying day.

“Be with her,” Rey whispered in the dark bedroom.

——————————————————

Now, Rey sat nearly twelve and a half years later. Wearing the same sweater worried about her daughter. 

A slight smile started to play over her lips as the sun was starting to rise over the capital, remembering a time when she would watch the sunrise with a fussy Ali when she was just a newborn. Rocking Alina back and forth as she would hum lullabies to her. That little girl was all grown up. No longer a little baby. Oh, what she would give to have Alina be that small again. At least then she was able to control what her daughter did.

Rey started to rest her head on the couch cushion, the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with her and was just about to fall asleep when a loud knock came from the front door. She sprang to her feet and headed towards the door. Before opening the door she quickly flattened down her hair and wiped her eyes, trying to hide her lack of sleep and dried tears. When she got to the door there was another loud knock. “Just a second!” she yelled as she hit the button of the hydraulic door. When she opened it Poe stood with a disheveled look on his face.

“Is Shara here?” Poe’s voice was deep with worry. He too looked as though he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “She never came home last night and I commed Finn this morning. He said that none of the kids were at his place. I tried comming you, but you never answered so I came here hoping that she was here.” Poe was flailing his hands and was practically out of breath. “Please Rey, tell me that my daughter is here.”

Rey opened her mouth like she was going to speak but nothing came out. Her eyes once again welled with tears. 

“Rey, what’s wrong?” Poe asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. 

“They're gone.” Rey choked out, “Alina, Milo, and Shara they’re gone.”

“What do you mean? Rey, what do you mean they’re gone?” Poe's eyes were wide with horror. “Please tell me that they didn’t?”

Rey gave herself a second to take a deep breath. Poe was the only one that truly knew about the world between worlds. Not long after Alina had asked about Ben, Rey decided that it was time for her to go in search of him. Rey had left Ali with Poe, telling him that she had “Jedi business” to take care of. She told him that she would be gone no more than two weeks and if she didn’t return then not to go looking for her. Poe did as he was told and didn’t ask any questions. That was until Rey showed up a week later covered in buries and a large gash on her forehead. She admitted that she went in search of the world between worlds. Rey was able to locate it but to get into it she had to go through several trials before she could enter. Rey had experienced so many trials that she was afraid that she would die before even making it to the world between worlds. She couldn’t leave Alina orphaned, so she came back empty-handed. Poe didn’t judge her though. He knew exactly what it felt like to lose the love of his life and if there was any chance that he could bring back his wife he would.

They never told Finn or Rose what had happened. Neither of them knew that there was even a chance that Ben could come back.

“They went to go…to go bring him back.” A tear fell from her eyes.

“Do they even know where they are going?” 

“Ali took the Jedi texts. If they don’t know where they’re going they will soon.” Rey let out a sob, “This is all my fault. If I had just told her then maybe she wouldn’t have gone. Maker I’m so stupid.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s going to be ok,” Poe wrapped her into a hug, “we’re going to bring them back. Let’s, comm Rose and Finn. Then we’ll go from there.”

  
  


—————————————————————

  
  


Ali was sitting at the bench of the Djakar table with her face buried in one of the Jedi texts. It had only been a few hours since they had left Corellia but they were already almost to Ahch-to. She had tried to read as much as she could about the world between worlds but there was little about it in the texts. The only information that she found was possible places where one could enter it and theories on what could happen once someone entered it. Her eyes hurt from straining them trying to read them. Admitted defects, Ali set the book back down on the table and covered her hands with her face.

“You okay?” Milo asked as he peered around the hallway that led from the cockpit. 

“Yeah. It’s just,” Ali sighed, “I’ve been looking at these books for hours, and I have hardly found anything about the world between worlds in them. At this rate, I’ll never be able to find it.”

Ali was frustrated, and Milo knew it. She was good at hiding it but he knew better. Her hair that was once in an intricate braid was now loose with curls falling out from her playing with it. Bags were starting to form under her eyes. She looked exhausted and it probably didn’t help that she hadn’t gotten any sleep.

Milo wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she fell into his embrace.

“It’s gonna be okay.” He reassured, “Maybe going to Ahch-to will give you the answers that you need.”

“I hope so,” Ali closed her eyes, and buried her face into his chest, “because there is another place to enter the world between worlds, and I don’t think any of us are going to like it.”

“Oh, and where would that be?” Milo questioned.

Ali was about to answer, but was interrupted by the alarm going off that they were approaching their destination. 

"Alright lovebirds, I’m gonna need some help landing this hunk of junk,” Shara yelled from the cockpit.

“Come on, let’s go help her.” Milo slid out of the seat and Ali followed lacing his fingers with his. 

When they walked into the cockpit Shara was sitting in the co-pilot's seat. Alina took her seat in the pilot's seat and the two girls worked together to get out of hyperspace. 

Ahch-to looked exactly as Ali had always envisioned it. The planet was practically covered in water, with only a few small clusters of islands. The sun was just starting to rise over the islands as they entered the planet's atmosphere. 

“It’s beautiful,” Shara whispered in awe of the planet.

  
  
  


They landed on the largest island. In hopes that they would find what they were looking for there. Ali quickly collected her belongings and headed down the ramp of the ship once they had landed. 

“Hey, slow down and wait for us,” Milo yelled after her, racing down the ramp. 

“Do you know where you're going?” Shara asked as her friend started to bound up the large stone steps that went up the mountain, “This island is huge. There’s no way we’re going to be able to find what we’re looking for.” 

“There’s something here,” Ali turned to Milo and Shara with wide eyes. A smile graced her lips, “I can feel it.”

“Well then can you slow down.” Shara laughed. “BB,” She called for the droid, “watch the ship while we’re gone. Make sure none of the natives try and take anything. Okay?”

The droid made his promise to protect the ship but only if they promised not to do anything dangerous.

“No promises!” The trio jokingly yelled back to the droid as they headed up the steep stone stairs.

“So why exactly did we come here?” Shara asked as they made their way up the mountain.

“Ahch-to is rumored to be a doorway to the world between worlds and it is this is where the first Jedi temple was located.” She turned to face her friend, “I can feel the force radiating off of this island. No wonder Luke Skywalker came here.” 

“How long did your mom train with him for?” Milo asked. Rey never really talked about her training with Luke or Leia. All of them knew that she had trained with them but she rarely ever talked about it. 

“Only for a few days, my mom was trying to get Luke to come back with her and help with the Resistance.” Ali paused and a sudden realization hit her, “This is actually the place where my parents bond connected for the first time.”

“Don't you think it's kind of weird that your parents bond flourished in a place that radiates the force and is a possible location for the place where your dad could be?” Shara asked once they started on their trek again. 

“I…… I never really thought about that before,” Ali genuinely hadn’t thought about it, “everything has happened so quickly that I have hardly had any time to think about it.” 

“Well, I think it's weird that this island has such a high concentration of the force and has so much importance in your parent’s life and your life.” Even though she was the wildest out of the three, Shara was also the smartest. She didn’t like to show it, but Shara was always thinking and taking in whatever was happening around her analytically. Ali was probably the only one that thought that but it was the truth.

On their journey, the trio acted as though nothing was wrong. They goofed around and laughed like they were just on one of the adventures that they had on Chandrila. The two girls were acting like idiots, being loud and making Milo wish that he was anywhere but here. Even though Ali’s life had completely been turned upside down everything was surprisingly normal. She hoped it would stay like this if she brought her dad back.

They had been climbing the rocky terrain of the island for a few hours before they reached what seemed to be an ancient Jedi temple. It was made of stone and had been carved into the mountain. Moss was growing the doorway and any exposed stone. It looked like not a single soul had been there in years with grass that was almost as tall as the doorway. Using her green saber, Ali cut down the tall blades of grass. 

“What do you think is in here?” Milo as they entered the temple.

“No clue,” Ali said as she extinguished her saber, “but whatever it is though has something to do with what I’m looking for.”

To all of their surprise, there wasn’t much to the temple. It was just a large open room made of stones and in the center of the floor laid an intricate mosaic. On the opposite side of the room was a large opening that looked out to the open ocean. Milo and Shara stopped to stare at the mosaic, but Alina kept on walking out towards the edge. Whatever was calling for her was outside of the temple and she needed to get to it. 

“Hey Ali, do you know what this thing means?” Shara called out, “Hello? Alina? Lina!”

Ali turned around and shook the voice that was calling out to her. “Sorry,” she walked towards the mosaic. She stared at the mosaic for a few minutes and wondered to herself what it meant. The temple by the looks of it had been here for centuries, maybe even dating older than the old republic. It was an interesting piece of artwork. One light figure intertwined with a dark figure. Ali then had a sudden realization and an answer for her curious friend. 

“It represents balance. Equal light and equal dark. That’s what the Jedi of the Old Republic practiced. When that equality was divided into the light and the dark that’s when the real war began.” She bent down and traced the pattern that the small stones made, “There have been times of “peace” and “balance” but they never last. Only once the dark and light are in balance again will there finally be peace in the galaxy.”

“Damn, that was poetic.” Shara laughed.

“Thanks, it came from the Jedi texts.” Ali looked up at her friend with a cheeky smile, “It’s true though. Some dark force will make its appearance and everything that we know will change forever.”

“You don’t think the galaxy is balanced?” Milo asked, offering his hand to help Ali up.

“I’m not sure,” she took his hand, “but I have a feeling that everything that we know will be changing soon.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of feelings lately.” Shara’s eyebrow quirked.

“Yeah well, I’ve been having a lot of things in general just happen to me so I guess we should get used to it.” Ali rolled her eyes as she headed towards the other end of the temple.

“What’s out there?” Milo asked as he followed after her, “A feeling?”

Alina came out of the large opening, taking in the cool island breeze and warm sunshine. Looking down the cliff Ali saw what exactly was calling her. At the bottom of the small cliff sat a large pit that was covered in seaweed. Waves crashed over it, causing everything to be covered with seawater. 

“Yeah,” Alina took off her jacket and placed her satchel on top of it. 

“What are you doing?” Milo rushed after her as she started to climb down the cliff. 

“I’m gonna go see what’s down there. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “The two of you are more than welcome to come and join me.”

“I’ll have to pass if that one, Ali. What if there is some huge sea monster down there, or it’s just a big pit that leads to nothing and you can’t get out?” Shara looked down at the pit with wide eyes.

“And what if it leads me to where my father is, Shara?” Ali’s voice sounded annoyed, “I’ll be fine, I promise. Go back to those huts that we passed not long ago, I’ll meet you there in a few hours.”

“I really don’t like this.” Milo sighed looking down at Ali who was not having it. She was going whether he liked it or not, “Uhh fine! Just please be safe, okay?” 

“I promise.” She smiled at the pair, gave them a two-finger salute, and with that she carefully slid into the dark pit. A few seconds later Shara and Milo heard a loud splash and a quiet “I’m ok!”

\-------------------------------

Milo and Shara had stayed pretty quiet on their walk to the huts. Two huts were still standing, one that almost looked like it had been blown up. A few of the natives were cleaning the area around the huts and gave the two dirty looks as they appeared. One of the natives came towards them and started swinging around her broom in attempts to get them to go away. 

“We don’t mean any harm,” Shara reassured her, but the nun cracked her with the broom. 

Milo laughed but it was short-lived when he too was smacked with the broom, “Hey,” he grabbed the broom and took it from the nun, “listen we don’t want any trouble. We’ll leave in a few hours. We just need a place to lay low for a few hours while we’re waiting for our friend. Is that okay?” 

The nun looked him up and down, then scoffed in defeat. She threw her hand out for her broom back and Milo gave it to her. Calling out something in her language, the rest of the creatures scurried away leaving Milo and Shara alone.

“Damn, you really do have a way with women.” Shara let out a soft laugh as she rubbed her arm in the place where the nun had struck her. 

“It’s from all of the practice I have dealing with you and Ali.” 

“Oh come on, we aren’t that bad. Besides, what would you do without us?” Shara winked.

“I would be a hell of a lot happier.” He scoffed at the girl.

Shara rolled her eyes at the statement. “Yeah, but it would be boring.” She mumbled under her breath. 

Setting her bag on the ground Shara set out towards one of the huts. Looking at the door of the hut she noticed something odd about it.

“Hey Mi, does this door look familiar to you?”

“It just looks like a door to me Shara.” Milo remarked, “Where are you even going?”

“Exploring,” Shara yelled back. 

As she got closer to the hut she was able to determine why the door looked so familiar. It was part of an old x-wing. When she opened it the hut looked as though it had been frozen in time. All of the objects in the hut looked at though they had not been touched in years with a thin layer of dust and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Shara walked in the hut slowly, making sure not to disturb any creature that had taken residence inside. There wasn't much inside; a box that looked like it had clothes in it, a small table with a light on it and a few other objects, and a shelf built into the hut that had a necklace with a red stone attached to it. There was something about the necklace that interested Shara, she had never seen a stone like this before. Walking slowly towards it she grabbed the necklace but when she did Shara's vision went grey. 

_She was on a planet that was a sea of grey. Thick fog made it hard to see. She could hear a familiar voice calling for help behind her. Spinning around quickly she could see Ali running towards her but suddenly she stopped. A small smile spread across her lips as if she was content with whatever had happened. Alis smile soon faded though, her eyes fluttered shut, and then collapsed to the rocky surface. Shara tried to run towards her, but she was stuck in her place. All of a sudden in the not so far distance a dark figure started coming towards Ali’s body. Coming closer towards her friend, Shara was able to get a good look at who it was. He was tall with black hair that barely brushed against his shoulders. As he came closer towards Ali's lifeless body he knelt down to her. He looked up at Shara, his brown eyes took him by surprise and it suddenly occurred to her who this man was. Ben Solo then scooped up his daughter into his large arms and started to walk back in the opposite direction._

The next thing Shara knew she was standing back in the hut on Ach-to. She quickly ran out of the hut and fell to her knees. _What the kriff was that?!_ She screamed in her head. Her mind was racing. Why did Ali collapse? Was she dead? What had happened to her? Had dad done something to her? Did he?

“Are you okay?” Milo called from the fire that he had started. Shara quickly got up, brushing the dirt off of her knees. Trying her hardest she tried to put whatever had just happened to her behind her and quickly thought of an excuse for why she had just ran out of the hut.

“I’m fine,” she smiled nervously, “there was a really big bug in there. It really scared me and I ran out and tripped. I’m okay though.”

“Umm okay,” Milo raised an eyebrow, clearly he didn’t believe her. Shara walked over and took a seat across from him, “What's that in your hand?”

Shara looked down and noticed that she still had the necklace in her hand. “Oh this?” she lifted it up to show him, “It's a necklace that I found in the hut. I thought Ali would like it.” _Yeah, yeah that's good. Good lying, Shara._

“Oh well, that’s nice of you,” Milo got up and picked up another piece of wood to put on the fire, “Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Of course, I’m fine, Milo, I told you it was just a bug that freaked me…”

“I’m not talking about what happened in the hut, Shara,” he cut Shara off, “Are you ok with you know, Ali bringing back her dad?”

It took Shara a second to comprehend what exactly Milo was asking her. Ali and Shara had always had it in common that they were missing a parent. Both of them had grown up missing such important parts of their families. If Ali brought back her father then that would mean the special bond that they shared would be gone. Was she happy that Ali had this opportunity to bring her dad and finally get to know what he’s like? Yes, of course, she was. Was she jealous that she couldn’t do the same with her mom? Also yes, but that didn’t mean that she wasn't okay.

"Yeah, of course, I’m okay with it,” Shara sighed, “she has always wanted to know who her dad was, and now she'll finally be able to meet him. I’m just worried.”

“What are you worried about?” 

“Well, what if he is not all she thinks he's cracked up to be? What if he’s not as good as Rey and Ali believe he is?” Shara rested her hands on her knees, “I just don't want Ali to get hurt.”

“I don’t want her to get hurt either. I know she has good instincts though, and will know when to get out of a bad situation.” A small smile started to spread on his face as he looked out into the distance seeing Ali come into view, “And she'll always come back to us.” 

Shara turned to see her friend but as she got closer towards them Sharas face fell noticing Ali’s tear-stained cheeks. She looked back to Milo, the smile that was on his face disappeared and now worry was set on his face. He quickly dropped the piece of wood that he had in his hand and booked it towards Ali. 

\------------------------------------------------

The water was freezing. Ali quickly swam to the caves shore. Propping herself on the ledge of the cave she was able to prop herself up and get out of the water. She was soaking wet to the core. Somehow a small amount of water even managed to get itself into her tightly laced boots. Ali sat on the edge for a few seconds to collect her bearings and to wring out some of the water from her hair and clothes. When she got up she noticed the large mirrored wall that was on the interior of the cave.

She walked slowly towards the mirror. Something about it made her nervous and excited all at the same time. Ali could feel the force radiating off of the wall. It called to. Singing that it would tell her what she wished to see. What Ali was dreaming of finding. 

“Show me where he is.” She whispered, “Let me see my father.”

Placing her hands on the glassy wall she was transported to a terrace on a beautiful waterfront. 

It was sunset. The sky above her looked like an artist's pallet. Full of shades of yellow, pink, blue and purple. The water from the late was calm with a few boats going into their respective ports. The mountains and islands surrounding her were speckled with lights from homes. This was probably the most beautiful place that she had ever been to. Ali was too busy admiring the scenery that she almost missed the woman standing next to her.

To Ali’s surprise, the woman standing next to her was her mother. Rey was younger, probably only a year or two older than Ali. She was wearing an intricately beaded white wedding dress. Her hair was half down, with loose curls that barely touched her shoulders. Her mother looked stunning in every way possible. She was practically glowing in the soft yellow light. Rey suddenly turned from her spot and smiled up to someone that was behind Ali.

When Ali turned she too had a smile spread across her face. Ben Solo stood before his new wife wearing a black and grey robes. The smile that was plastered on his face made Ali’s heart leap with joy and she could feel the same joy radiating off of their mother. Rey took a few steps and Ben did the same, meeting each other halfway. Lifting up on her toes, Rey cupped Ben's face and kissed him. 

When the kiss broke, Ben took Rey’s hand into his. The couple walked back over to where Rey had been standing before. He took her into his arms and Rey rested her head on his chest. Together they watched as the sunset over the crystal blue water. 

They were happy. They were in love. This is where they were meant to be, locked in each other’s embrace. This is what the two of them deserved but they would never be able to experience this. The warmth of each other’s embrace. The feeling of each other’s lips on one another. What it feels like to have their hands intertwined with one another.

_Why were they robbed of this?_ Ali let a tear roll down her cheek. Then it hit her. They were able to have this wedding because in this alternate timeline before her there was not an Alina Skywalker, there wasn’t even an Alina Solo. If Ali had not been conceived when Ben had brought Rey back to life then he would have lived. They could have had this beautiful life together but instead, she was able to exist. 

Her parents, the lake, and the beautiful sunset started to dissolve around her. Ali’s hands quickly came off the mirror and for the second time in a day she crumbled into a pile of tears. Ben not only sacrificed himself for Rey but also sacrificed himself for Alina to exist. 

The worst part is that he would never know that he had sacrificed himself for a daughter that he would never know. That he didn’t even know existed. 

If she was able to bring him back would he think she was a suitable heir to his family name? Would he like her? Did he even want kids? 

This cave didn’t even give her any answer. Coming down here just made her upset and angry at herself for even exiting. She still had no clue where she needed to go to enter the world between worlds. 

Ali gave herself a few minutes to let out all of the pain and hate that she had in her heart. Without anyone there to see her in such a state of distress. She had never felt so broken in her whole life. 

After some time, once she had not a single tear left to cry, Ali left the water cave. 

\---------------------------------

The sun was just starting to set when she found her friends sitting around a fire by the huts that she had told them to meet her earlier. When Milo saw Ali coming down the mountainside his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He ran towards her at full speed and crashed into her. Bringing Ali into a tight hug. As hard as Ali tried to keep her composure her emotions got the best of her and she once again started to cry into Milos’s chest.

“What’s wrong?” Milo looked at Ali’s face and started wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face, “Lina, baby what happened?

“It’s… it’s….all my…..fault.” She sobbed, “It’s my fault that he’s….de…..dead.”

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Milo rubbed small circles on her back in hopes to comfort her, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Ali buried her face back into his chest. Continuing to cry and hiccup as she did only a few hours prior. It wasn’t long though until her sobs had gone quiet and her tears had stopped flowing. 

“Come on, let’s get you out of these wet clothes and then we can talk about it. Okay?” Milo offered once she had calmed down. Ali slowly nodded her head. He took her hand into his and towed Ali towards the huts where Shara was waiting with open arms.


	9. Making Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo life got really crazy really fast. First I want to say how sorry I am for not uploading twice this week. My classes have been moved online and I suddenly have more work than usual. Second I hope that everyone is staying safe in these really weird times in our lives. The good news is that I will have more time hopefully to write.  
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think in the comments!

“So what did you see?” Milo's voice was soft and full of concern when he asked Ali what she had seen. 

Shara had packed an extra pair of clothes in her backpack and gave them to Ali to change into. Once she had changed out of her wet clothes she joined Milo and Shara around the fire. She was now sitting next to Milo resting her head on his shoulder. As hard as it was to talk about it she needed to tell them what she saw when she went into the cave and touched the mirrored wall. That was the only way she was going to be able to heal.

“It wasn’t awful,” she started, and Ali knew that her friends were giving her odd looks, “It was beautiful actually. I saw what would have been my parent’s wedding. They looked so happy together” her voice cracked and fresh tears started to rim her eyes, “and it’s all my fault that they didn’t get to have their happy ending.”

“How is it your fault?” Shara asked.

“Because if I wasn’t conceived then my dad would have lived and my parents could have been together.” Another sob ran through Alina’s body again. 

“Lina, it’s not your fault that your dad is dead.” Milo put a comforting arm over her shoulder, “Did you at least find anything that could tell you where you can find your dad?”

“No!” Ali practically screamed, “I was only shown that and nothing else. Maybe I should just stop now. We should just cut our losses and go back home. It was stupid of me to believe that I could actually do this.”

Ali wanted to give up. She was defeated and tired, wanting nothing more than to just to go home.

“Give up you must not.” Came a raspy voice from behind her. 

Ali and Milo quickly spun around to see a short alien with a transparent bluish tint standing only a few feet away from them. 

“What the hell is that?!” Shara screamed. Grabbing her blaster from her hilt she shot at the creature but as the blast went hurling towards the creature stopped in mid-air when the creature lifted its hand.

Ali knew exactly what this was. Her mother had taught her about force ghosts. She had never met one, but she always wanted to. Alina quickly tried to remember all of the old Jedi that her mother had taught her when she was younger. There was only one thought that matched this force ghost’s description.

“Are you Master Yoda?” Ali asked with curious eyes.

Yoda let out a sly laugh, “Taught you well your mother did.”

“Okay, wait, no, literally what the hell is that?” Shara asked as she came around the fire to get a better look at the specter.

“Shara, Milo, this is Jedi Master Yoda.” She turned to fully face the specter, “Now, why shouldn’t I give up? It’s not like you are going to give me all of the answers that I need?”

“Wrong you are, young one,” Yoda mused, “you already know where you need to go.”

“And where might that be?” Milo looked between the two of them.

“Exegol?” Ali’s voice was barely a whisper, “Is that where I need to go?”

“The last place where he lived, you must go, yes.” The ghost confirmed Ali’s worst nightmare. In the text, it had mentioned that Exegol was another doorway to the world between worlds, but it was the last possible place that she wanted to go.

“Isn’t that where your dad died?” Milo asked.

“Yeah,” Ali nodded her head, “Master, why of all places do I have to go to Exegol?”

“Ben Solo will be found there, but trials you will have to go through.” Yoda's voice became serious, “Perish, you might.”

_ Perish _ . The word stung. It made her and all of her friends squirm. She knew that was a possibility but hearing it made dying even more real. Ali was only 18; she had so much of a life left to live. There was so much that she wanted to do and see. 

“What kind of trials will I have to go through?” Ali needed to know what exactly she was getting herself into, but before she knew it Yoda disappeared into nothing. 

“Now what?” Shara asked after a few minutes of silence.

Ali got up from her spot and offered a hand to each of her friends. She knew what she needed to do and would need her friends for whatever was coming next.

“We’re going to Exegol.”

* * *

None of them said another word after that. They collected their belongings, put out the fire, and headed towards the Falcon. The trip would approximately take them six hours. Which meant Alina had six hours left with her friends. Shara wouldn’t look at her and Milo looked at her like she was already dead.

“Are either of you going to say something?” 

Shara abruptly got up from her seat and headed out of the cockpit. Her eyes were already brimming with tears. 

“Shara, wait!” Ali called after her and Milo followed, “Shara please just talk to me.”

“Don’t do this.” Shara turned around with fire in her voice, “You are sacrificing yourself for someone you don’t even know.”

“Shara, he's my father…”

“Yeah, and your point? He was also Supreme Leader of the First Order. Killed countless innocent people. Do you really want to sacrifice yourself for someone like that?” Her words were like venom, “What if he’s not as good as you think he is?”

“And what if he is the good man that my mother thinks that he is?” Ali couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Shara where is this coming from? You should want me to do this, not trying to stop me.”

“I’m not trying to stop you, Alina!” Shara could feel the tears starting to stream down her cheek, “I just…” she took a deep breath trying to calm herself down, “I'm just worried for you and all of us. I'm trying to knock some sense into you. This could end horribly for you but also for us. What's gonna happen when you die trying to bring him back? What's going to happen to your mom?

I know what it's like to have a dead parent. To live your entire life wanting to meet them and get to know them, but sometimes we just need to accept that they are gone and we will never get to know them.” 

There was a silence between the two of them. Both girls had a moment to mull over what the other had said. Shara had calmed down but Ali became even angrier.

“You know what Shara? you're jealous of me.” Ali’s words felt like daggers to Shara’s heart.

“What are you talking about?” Shara was confused. What could she be jealous of?

“You’re jealous that I can bring back my dad and that there is no chance that you can’t bring back your mom.” She hissed out, “That's why you don’t want me to bring him back because then you’ll be the only one with a dead parent.”

“What? No, How can you even say that?” Sharas' eyes once again started to well with tears, “I want this for you, more than anything, and more than probably anyone. It's just that the chances of you surviving are low and I’m just….”

“I’m sure that the chances of me dying aren’t as high as you think they are.” Ali cut her off.

“Ali, Yoda said that you could and probably would perish,” Shara yelled, “and I don't know how to describe it but I just have this feeling that when you get off this ship in a few hours I will never see you again.”

“No,” Ali's voice was blunt. She started to walk closer toward Shara. The height difference between the girls made Shara feel even smaller than she already felt. Especially when Ali looked down to her as though she were nothing.

“You’ve been jealous. I know you, Shara, more than anyone. The moment you found out that there was a chance that I could bring my father back you got jealous.” Ali sneered, “And don’t even think about giving that bull shit about my father’s dark past. What do you really think that your mom was the greatest woman to ever grace this galaxy? No, she made just as many mistakes and probably killed just many innocent people that my father had. So don’t tell me that my father was a monster when yours was one too and don't tell me what I am capable of. You cannot stand here and tell me what you think is right for me. I've spent my whole life watching you do foolish dangerous things, and I have never tried to stop you. So how dare you try and stop me from doing something that I have wished for since I was a little girl.”

Milo watched with wide eyes as Ali continuously took a dig at their friend. She almost looked like a feral animal as she belittled Shara. He needed to do something to stop this.

“Ali!” Milo strode over to Ali and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from Shara, “That’s enough Ali!”

“No, she’s right,” tears now streamed down Sharas face, “I am jealous, but instead of your dad being the monster, maybe you’ve become the monster, Ali.”

Shara stormed out and walked back towards the cockpit and Ali went towards the captain’s quarters. Milo on the other hand just stood there in shock. The girls rarely ever fought, but when they did it always ended as a huge blowout with both of the girls not speaking for several days and would usually take Milo, Rey, and Poe to get them to mend their issues. They didn’t have days though and it was just Milo. He knew that he needed to get the girls to make up even if it meant that he would have less time with Ali.

“These girls are gonna kill me one day.” Milo huffed and headed towards the cockpit.

* * *

Ali sat on the uncomfortable mattress with her hands covering her face. How could she be so nasty to Shara? She was her best friend. One of her only actual friends that she could tell anything and everything to. She had friends at the temple but they would never have the connection that she and Shara had. 

Of course, Ali understood why Shara was so worried. Hell, she was even nervous herself but neither of her friends needed to know that. They didn’t need to know that she was nervous and worried and scared. Maker was she scared. Scared of her meeting her father, scared of dying and most of all was she scared of leaving her friends and her mother alone. 

Milo and Shara would eventually be ok. It would be for them and Ali knew that. Ali knew that they would mourn and miss her like crazy but they would learn to live without her. Her mother though. Rey not only would lose the love of her life, but also her daughter. She could only imagine the grief that she would feel losing two people that she loved so deeply.

As much as Ali wanted to be positive and not think about what could and probably would happen to her she needed to be optimistic. For her friends, for her mom, and her own sanity. 

Ali started to lean back on the bed as the exhaustion finally started to take over her body. Her eyes had just started to close once there was a sudden knock on the door. Letting out a deep sigh she got off of the bed and headed towards the door. When she opened the door Milo was standing there with a dumb smile on his face. Maker would she miss that smile. She half expected him to start yelling at her but no, of course, he was smiling.

“Does she hate me?” Ali looked up at Milo with sad eyes. 

“She’s upset, but I think she’ll be okay.” He walked into the room and put his bag on the floor next to hers, “What about you? You got a little…”

“Scary?” Ali hit the button for the door to close, “Yeah, I know. I’m just really stressed, and I have a lot going on. I just snapped. Milo, I just snapped. I saw red.” Her eyes started to well with tears again, “I don’t ever want to ever see that color again.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He took Ali into her arms and held her tight, “It’s been a crazy few days for all of us especially you. Ali, you are allowed to have emotions and scream and shout but what you said to Shara was uncalled for. You need to make amends with Shara before you leave in a few hours.”

“I know.” Ali buried her face into Milo's chest, “I need to go apologize before it’s too late.” She rose on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a little bit. You can get some sleep and then I’ll finally be able to sleep.”

“Okay,” he kissed her forehead as she pulled away, “I’ll be waiting.”

Ali rolled her eyes as she walked out of the small bedroom. 

* * *

Shara was sitting in the pilot's seat when Ali had found her. Her short legs were propped up on the control panel with her arms crossed tightly around her chest. BB8 was standing guard next to her making concerned beeping noises. When Ali knocked lightly on the doorway Shara quickly wiped away the tears that were still streaming down her face. 

“I’m fine Milo, just go take care of Ali.” her voice was quiet, “We both know that she needs more than I do.”

“Well, for one, I can take care of myself,” Ali laughed lightly, “and two, I need to make up with you before I can say my peace with Milo.”

Shara quickly dropped her feet from the controls and turned around in the chair. When Ali saw Sharas puffy red teary eyes her heart sank to her stomach. It had been a long time since she had seen Shara this upset and it was all Ali’s fault that she looked like this. 

“You know he would do anything for you, right?” Shara said as she got out of her seat. 

“I know,” Ali nodded her head, “It’s disgusting.”

They were quiet for a few minutes. Neither of them was sure what exactly to say. Ali’s eyes were starting to well with tears again and tears continued to fall down Sharas cheeks. 

“I’m sorry,” both girls said in unison. They both gave each other a sad smile. 

“I shouldn’t have been so nasty to you.” Ali started, “You don’t want me to do this because you don’t want anything bad to happen to me. Not because you’re jealous of me.”

“But I am jealous, Lina.” Shara sobbed out, “I didn’t realize how jealous I was until you said it but I’m so incredibly jealous. Ali, if you bring him back then nothing is ever going to be the same again. You’ll finally have a dad and I’ll still be the girl without a mom.”

“Oh, Shara,” Ali brought Shara into her arms, “I could only imagine what you're going through right now. I know that things are going to be crazy and different, but I promise that you will always have me.” 

“I thought this crap was over.” Ali gave Shara a confused look, “Missing my mom. When I was a kid, I would beg my dad to tell me everything about her. I literally know everything about her, and I’ll never get to meet her,” Shara broke the hug and took Ali's hands into her, “but you are going to actually meet your dad and get to know him when you spent a majority of your life not knowing anything about him. That’s why I’m jealous of you, but I’m also so incredibly happy for you.”

Tears were now streaming down Ali’s face. “You know that I remember her, right?”

“What no! You never told me that.” Sharas face lit up, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to be jealous.” Ali admitted, “I know it sounds silly, but I didn’t want you to be jealous because I got to know your mom and you never did.”

“What do you remember about her?” Her dark eyes softened, “Tell me about her.”

Ali smiled as she tried to remember some of her earliest memories. 

“She had this laugh that was so insanely infectious. When she would start laughing she couldn’t stop, and then it would get everyone else in the room laughing.” she pushed one of Sharas curls behind her ear, “She had crazy curly red hair that she would let me practice braiding with. Once, right before she had you she made me promise I would always be there for you, that I would protect you, and that I would always be your friend. I hope that I’ve kept that promise ” Both girls were now crying and simultaneously enveloped each other in a big hug. 

“You can’t die, Lina,” Shara whispered after both of them had commed down a bit, “I’ve lost too many important women in my life and I can’t lose you too.”

“You won’t lose me, Shara, I promise” Ali squeezed her even tighter. 

“Don’t promise things that you know that you can’t keep.” Shara pulled away so she could take Ali’s face into her hands, “Promise me that you will try and come back to us. Come back for me, Milo and your mom because I don’t know how either of us will be able to cope without having you in our lives.” 

Tears continued to stream down Ali’s face, “I promise that I will try and come back. I will fight whatever demons are out there to attack me with every ounce of my being.”

“Good,” Shara nodded her head, “now I think you have a particular boy waiting for you in the captain’s quarters.”

Ali practically gaged at the statement, “That sounds like something from a horrible holo movie.” The girls burst into laughter. It felt good to laugh again. To have something that felt normal. 

“I know, why do you think I said it?” Shara continued to laugh, “You know he loves you, right?”

“I know,” Ali grimaced. If there was one thing that Alina hated most it was talking about her emotions and feelings. She loved Milo but was terrified to admit it. “Can you tell him?”

“No, you are a big girl and can do this yourself.” Shara laughed.

“Fine,” Ali wined, “I can’t wait to cry about my feelings to my boyfriend and say those awful three words.”

“Aww, I feel so bad for you,” Shara rolled her eyes, “now go make your peace with Milo.”

“Fine. wish me luck” Ali laughed. Giving Shara one last hug, Ali headed out of the cockpit.

“You two better not have sex while I’m on this ship!” Shara yelled back to her friend and the last thing that she heard was a very obvious gagging noise coming from Ali. 

* * *

When Ali walked into the bedroom Milo was sitting on the bed, with the sheets pulled down, and his legs crossed as he skimming through his datapad. His chest was bare, and was only wearing a pair of dark blue sleep pants.  _ Of course, he’s not wearing a kriffing shirt, _ she mused as she walked in. As soon as he heard Ali’s footsteps come closer towards him, he lifted his head from his screen giving her a big smile.

“How did it go?” He asked.

“It went better than I thought it would actually.” Ali laughed as she rifled through her bag to find her sleep clothes. “Lots of tears, but we're okay now.”

“That’s good,” Milo watched as Ali scurried into the closet to get changed. She came out a few minutes later dressed in an oversized grey short sleeve shirt and a darker pair of grey shorts. Her hair was back in its usual braid. Even though Ali looked exhausted, she still had the smallest smile on her face when she came back into the main room.

“Wow, aren’t I lucky.” Milo laughed as Ali spun around as if she were showing off the newest fashion style.

“Yeah, lucky to have a girl in an all grey outfit.” She laughed at him for how he was looking at her. Milo got up from the bed and took Ali’s hand to spin her around like he had the night before at the gala. She laughed even harder as he twirled her around and lifted her in the air, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. Taking his face into her hands Ali kissed him as though they had never kissed before. It was passionate and tender as their lips moved in unison with one another. Deepening the kiss Ali wrapped her legs around Milo's waist, he slowly moved one hand to cup her butt and the other to cup her cheek. Ali promised Shara that she and Milo wouldn’t do anything, but this could be the last time the two of them would be alone together. So she had no interest in stopping whatever was about to happen. Ali could already hear Shara yelling at them in the next few hours. 

Milo attempted to carry her towards the bed, but tripped over his boots. Luckily, they landed on top of the bed. They broke to catch their breath and to laugh at what had just happened. Ali continued to laugh, but Milo had gone silent as if he were taking everything in. Savoring what little time he had left with her. She kissed him again, but immediately broke away.

“What’s wrong?” Ali looked up at him concerned. She could see his eyes starting to well with tears.

Milo ran a finger over Ali’s flushed cheek. Trying to memorize everything about her face: her deep brown eyes that seemed ancient, her plush full lips, the freckles that scattered her nose and cheeks. She was beautiful in every single way possible. Milo wouldn’t know what he would do without her. He hoped that he would never have to live in a galaxy where Alina didn’t exist, but even the odds were against him. He leaned in to kiss her forehead. 

“Don’t do this, Lina,” Milo could feel Ali tense beneath him, “please, don’t do this. I’m begging you.” 

“Not you too.” She sighed. Ali could feel the anger starting to bubble up again. She released her legs and pushed him out of the way.

“Lina, please,” she got out of the bed and started to leave. Milo got up quickly and grabbed her hand in hopes to stop her. “Can you please just let me talk for five minutes, Lina?”

Ali rolled her eyes and turned around to face him. All of a sudden he looked so tired as if all of the energy that he had had moments ago was gone. 

“Alright, so why do you not want me to do this?” Her voice was cold, “Are you scared that he’s still evil too? Or are you going to give me some other reason not to do this?”

“I’m scared of losing you, Lina.” His voice cracked, “What’s going to happen if you die? What’s going to happen to Shara, or your mom, or me when you are gone?”

“I’m not going to die, Milo.” He looked down at her with sad eyes. They both knew that the chance of her surviving was slim. Milo knew that Ali was trying to be positive, but they both knew the outcome. “I’m going to try my hardest not to die. I will fight for my life. I will fight to come back for Shara, for my mom, and for you.”

“For us?” Milo motioned between the two of them.

Ali sighed and intertwined her fingers with his. She was never good at sharing her emotions. Milo knew that. It took a while for him to accept it, but he had. Ali closed her eyes like she was searching for some sort of higher power to find the strength to say what she was about to say. 

Milo took it as something else though. That she was going to tell him something completely different. He nodded his head, gave her hand a squeeze, “You know what I’m gonna go sleep in the crew quarters.” Ali was gonna let him go. She moved out of the way to let him go but something came over her.  _ It’s now or never,  _ she told herself.

“I love you.” She blurted. Her eyes snapped open and Milo stopped dead in his tracks. Neither of them couldn’t believe what she had just said. Milo slowly turned around on his heels with a bewildered look on his face. Ali slowly nodded her head to reassure him. 

“I love you,” Ali said it again more confidently, “I’ve known for a really long time, but I love you. I love the way that you look at me like I’m the only person that exists. I love the way that you smile when I do something stupid or am completely nasty to you because you know that I’m just being hot-headed and don’t mean it. I love it when you put me in my place when I’m acting like a complete and utter idiot. I love that you love me for me.” Milo slowly started to walk towards her as she kept spewing her heart out, “I love your laugh. I love when you make me laugh. I love it when you tell me that I’m beautiful even when I look like a Raptar. I love the way that you kiss me. I love….” She was cut off by Milo pressing his lips to hers. When they both pulled away for air, Ali looked up to see that Milo had tears in his eyes and she suddenly realized that there were tears in her eyes too. 

“I love that you believe in me when I’m about to do something crazy, and right now I need you to believe in more than anything,” Ali cupped his face in her hands, “because I’m scared, Milo. I’m so scared of what’s going to happen to me. I’m scared of leaving you and Shara. I’m scared of leaving my mom.”

Milo wrapped her in his arms as she started to break down. He held her as she cried and cried into his chest. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when she had learned the truth about her father but it was close to it. 

“Promise me that you’ll take care of them.” Ali’s voice was quiet when she started to talk again, “I know that they are both capable of taking care of themselves, but I need to know that someone is going to look after them once I’m gone.”

“I promise.” Milo nodded his head.

“And please promise me that you won’t let Shara do anything stupid. I’m usually her voice of reason, and without me, I’m scared that she's just going to go AWOL, and you can’t let her marry some big idiot because she’s too smart for that. Maker Milo she’s so smart, and you need to remind her of that. Please, Milo, promise me.”

“Hey, hey, I promise that I will take care of them,” Milo sighed, “and I know that they will take care of me too.”

“Good,” Ali nodded her head as she blinked away tears, “at least I'll know that the people that I love will be taken care of when I’m gone.”

“I’m too young to die, Milo. I want to have a life, Milo. A life with you and I’m so scared that we’re never going to have that.” Milo squeezed her even tighter because he wanted a future with Ali too but the chances of that happening now were low. He loved her so much that it hurt and the thought of her not being in his life made him want to be ill. 

“Who knows maybe you’ll live and you can finally do the thing that all daughters dread.” Milo was trying to lighten the mood. 

“And what would that be?” Ali looked up at him confused.

“Introducing their boyfriend to their dad for the first time.” Milo laughed.

Ali burst into laughter at just the thought of how that exchange would go. “Oh, I’m sure that’s gonna go great.”

“Do you think he’ll like me?”

“Oh, honey... I doubt it.” Ali was joking but she was also serious.

“Yeah, you’re right.” he admitted, “I wouldn’t like my enemy’s son dating my daughter either.”

“What are you going to do if he likes Shara more than you?” Ali started laughing again.

“I’m gonna have you run me over with the Falcon.” They both started hysterically laughing again. Ali could see it happening though. Milo was always the serious one that made sure everyone was safe and not trying to kill themselves and that was why she loved him so much because he was so caring. Shara, on the other hand, was the free spirit. She was the more likable. She was funny. Everybody liked Shara. 

“How much time do we have left?” Ali asked as their laughter had died down. 

“About four hours.” Milo looked at the clock that was on the wall, “Why?”

“I’m exhausted,” she admitted as a ghost of a smile crossed her lips, “and I would really like to spend my last few hours taking a nap curled up in my boyfriend’s arms.”

“Well, then I’ll have to make that happen, won’t I?” Without even blinking an eye he scooped Ali into his arms. The noise that came out of Ali’s mouth sounded like a mixture of a laugh and a yelp which only made Milo start laughing again. He carefully placed her on the bed and then climbed in next to her then covered both of them with the thick blanket at the end of the bed. 

“Goodnight,” Ali whispered as she nestled herself into the crook of Milo’s arm and laid her head on his chest. She could instantly feel the exhaustion taking over her as Milo wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. At this moment, even though her life had gone completely upside down a day ago she felt as though everything was right in the galaxy. If she could just freeze this moment of her lying in Milo’s arm she would. Ali would stay in Milo arms forever if it were an option. 

“Hey,” Milo whispered just as Ali was starting to drift off, “I love you too.”

Ali couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She rolled over and kissed him lightly on the lips, “I love you too, you big idiot,” both of them were smiling, “now go to bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And with that, both of them fell asleep to the sound of the ship going through Hyperspace and each other’s heartbeats. 


	10. See You Soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a nice week and is staying safe in these weird times. Also, I can't believe that this fic has ten chapters already. This chapter is a short and sweet leadup to some really crazy stuff. I hope you guys enjoy it!

“So, what you’re telling us is that our children went to go bring Ben Solo back from the dead?” Finn’s voice seemed pretty calm after Rey had explained to him and Rose where exactly their son had gone, along with Alina and Shara. It was much later in the day before all of them could get together to meet. Now all four of them sat around Rey’s kitchen table, discussing where they were going to go from here. “Yeah, you know what this is definitely the craziest thing that they have ever done.” 

“Do they even know where they are going?” Rose, on the other hand, was in shock, “How can they even bring him back? I thought you said he was dead?”

“Well, he isn’t technically dead, or at least that’s what Leia and I believe.” Rey had never told Finn and Rose about the truth of Ben's whereabouts, “It’s more like he’s stuck and can’t get out.”

“Where is he stuck then?” Fin asked.

“It’s called the world between worlds. In the Jedi text, it’s mentioned to be a theory, but it’s real.” Rey’s voice cracked.

“How do you know it’s real if it’s just a theory?” Both asked in unison.

“Because a few years ago, I tried to find it, and I would have if I didn’t almost die.” 

“Wait, when did you go to find it?” Finn's voice was full of concern.

“About thirteen years ago, when Ali was about five. I went looking for the world between worlds. I left her with Poe with specific instructions not to tell the two of you unless I didn’t come back in two weeks.” Rey explained, “My research led me to the conclusion that the only location where I could bring him back was on Exegol.”

“Did you go back there?” Rose asked. Her friend's eyes went wide. Nobody had set foot on the planet of the Sith since the end of the war.

Rey nodded her head and continued, “So, I went to Exegol, and when I got there I learned that I would have to pass four trials, where I would have to face my biggest fears before I would be able to enter.” Her voice was shaking with emotion at this point, “I made it through one, but my injuries were too severe that I knew if I continued I would never make it out alive.” Tears started to stream Rey’s face again, remembering the horrible realization that she made several years ago. “As much as I wanted to bring Ben back, and for Ali to have both of her parents, I couldn’t bear to leave her an orphan.”

Neither of them spoke for several minutes just taking in the information that Rey had told them. As much as Finn, Rose, and Poe were worried about their own children’s well-being, they were also concerned for Alina.

“What are Ali’s chances of actually surviving this?” Poe asked, breaking the silence, “You know her strengths and weaknesses better than any of us. Do you think she can do this?”

Rey sat there for a few seconds and pondered his question, “Ali is extremely powerful. Far more powerful than any of my other students, but I couldn’t even do it. I was smart and knew when I needed to quit.” Rey could only imagine what her daughter would have to go through, “We all know how Ali gets when she’s determined about doing something. She won’t give up without a fight, and I’m afraid that her stubbornness will be what takes her away from me.”

“So, why don’t we just leave now to get to Exegol?” Fin offered

“Yeah, I’m sure if we left now we would be able to beat them to Exegol and stop Ali from doing it.” Poe pointed out.

“Wait, no,” Rey threw her hands in the air, “I have to go, but I have to do this alone.”

“Alone? Why alone?” Rose gave her a worried look, “Our kids went on this suicide mission with Ali too. If you go we’re coming with you.”

“Milo and Shara are going to be fine.” Rey said bluntly, “The only one that will be affected is Ali. She’s the one in danger, and if she does bring him back.…” she suddenly stopped thinking about what she had just said. Rey was too concerned about Ali living that she didn’t even consider what she would bring with her if her daughter did live. The thought of Ben coming back made her heart skip a beat. What if Ali was able to bring him back? Rey would finally be able to have a life with the man that she loved and Alina would finally be able to meet her father. They would finally be a family.

“Rey? Are you ok?” Rose brought Rey out of her thoughts. 

“I have to do this alone.” Rey's voice was more serious, “If Ali lives and brings back Ben, he’s going to need me and only me. If the rest of you are there when they come out it’s just going to freak him out even more than finding out that he has an eighteen-year-old daughter.”

“And what if it ends badly?” Finn gave Rey a pointed look, “You and our kids are going to need us more than anything.”

“I know,” Rey agreed with him, “Milo will lose his girlfriend, Shara will be losing her best friend, and I’ll be losing my only daughter and the last piece of that I have of the man I love. All three of us are going to be inconsolable, but I need to have hope that Ali is going to do it. That when I leave Exegol, I will be leaving with my daughter and the man I love. If the three of you come he’s going to think that it’s an ambush, and I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“I’ll make sure to fill the three of you in as often as I can, and I’ll make sure that your kids comm you too.” Rey reassured them, “When everything is said and done we can all meet on some neutral planet. Where all of us can meet and figure out what happens next. It’s not like I don’t want you guys to be there, I do, but this is something that I have to do on my own.”

They were silent for a few minutes going over Rey's plan. All three of them hated the idea but she was ultimately right. She had to do this on her own and to be honest they weren’t exactly sure how they would react to meeting Ben.

“I don’t like it, but you’re right. This is something that you need to do yourself.” Finn nodded his head in agreement. Getting up from the table he brought Rey into a big hug, “Just please keep us in touch on everything that happens.”

“Tell the kids that we love them.” Rose got up and joined in the hug. 

Poe joined in not long after, “I just hope Shara’s is better at flying the Falcon than I am.”

All four of them burst into laughter at that point. They all settled in savoring this moment. Nothing would ever be the same again after Rey left. They moved quickly. The kids were probably almost to Exegol so Rey had to leave as soon as possible. Rose helped her pack a bag quickly and then the four of them headed to the land pad. They took a few minutes after to say their final goodbyes and with that Rey was off to Exegol.

* * *

Ali woke up a few hours later with Milo sleeping peacefully on her chest. Ali couldn’t help but smile at the sight. His cheek was pressed up against her sternum and a light snore was coming from his lips. He looked peaceful. The last thing that she wanted to do was wake him but there were probably only a few minutes before they would approach their destination.

“Hey,” Ali ran a finger across Milo's bare shoulders in an attempt to wake him up, “Milo, it’s time to get up.”

He groaned and started to stir slightly on top of her as Milo started to wake up. “Five more minutes,”

“No, you big lug, it’s time to get up,” She started to push him off but started to laugh as Milo pulled himself up and buried his face into the crook of her neck. Ali sighed and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. He made a humming noise as a response and started leaving small kisses along her collarbone.

“Milo, we’re gonna be at Exegol soon. As much as I wanna do this right now, I really need to take a show…” he silenced her by planting his lips to hers. I guess the shower would have to wait a little longer. Ali would never forget the first time the two of them had kissed. One second the two of them were arguing with one another over something stupid and the next her lips were pressed up against his. She pulled away quickly and started apologizing for kissing him but before Ali could get another word in Milo softly cupped her cheeks and kissed her again. 

“You know you snore when you sleep right?” Milo laughed when he came up for air. Ali rolled her eyes. She quickly maneuvered her leg around Milo and flipped him on his back. He looked up at her with wide eyes as she straddled him. 

“Oh, shut up and kiss me,” Ali ordered him in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Without hesitation, the couple crashed their lips together in a fiery kiss. Milo had his hands all over her that there was one point where she couldn’t keep track of where they were. He slowly started to lift up Ali’s shirt and she wasn’t going to stop him now. It was nearly half off when there was a loud knock on the door. 

“Wakey, wakey, lovebirds we’re almost to our destination,” Shara yelled on the opposite side of the door.

Milo let out a loud groan pulling down Alina's shirt.

“Ok, we’re up.” She yelled, rolling her eyes. Ali bent her head giving Milo one more kiss on the lips, “I’m sorry, love.”

“Why is she always the one to interrupt us when we start to get into it?” Milo whined as Ali got off of him and went to grab her bag. It wasn’t the first time Shara had rudely interrupted the couple when they were in the heat of the moment. 

“Just be glad it’s her, and not someone else.” She laughed, “I’m going to take a shower, and no you can’t come in with me.”

“Why would I wanna do that?” Milo smiled at Ali, “Besides I would bet credits that Shara would end up walking in as we got in.”

“It wouldn’t be the weirdest time Shara would walk in on us.” Ali gave Milo a wink as she walked out of the room. He shook his head as he admired her walk out of the room.

“Gods, that woman is going to kill me.” He sighed and flopped back down onto the bed. 

* * *

They had landed on Exegol about an hour ago. After she took a shower, Ali got dressed quickly, She had spent eighteen years away from her father and wouldn’t waste a moment more. She put on a dark grey pair of leggings with a matching cropped tank top and wrapping herself in a pale blue scarf. Her hands shook nervously as she placed her curls into a single braid. Looking in the mirror she couldn’t believe how much she looked like her mom from when she was about her age. 

Alina was ready, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She was currently pacing around the captains quarters trying to pump herself up. Ali wasn’t one to get nervous but she was nervous now. She had now spent the last hour locked in the captain's quarters. Milo had knocked at the 20-minute mark to make sure that she was ok and of course, Ali said she was. Even though she wasn’t. 

She was ready though. 

She knew what she was getting herself into. The training that Ali had would be enough to get through whatever trials the force wanted to throw at her. There was a part of her, deep, deep down that wanted to turn around and just go back home. To go home and have a normal life, but she couldn’t have a normal life. Not any more. Ali needed to do this. She had to. For her, for her mom. She needed to bring back her father, even if it killed her. 

Grabbing her bag off of the bed she headed out of the door and didn’t even think about looking back. 

* * *

Milo was sitting at the table when Ali walked into the main part of the ship. He immediately got up from his seat once he saw her. 

“So, are you ready?” his voice was soft but confident. Milo didn’t want her to go and Ali knew that but at least he was supporting her. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Ali smiled up at him. She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, “It’s going to be ok Milo. I’m going to be ok.”

“I know,” he wrapped her into a hug, “you’re too tough to go out this easily.” 

Ali laughed into his chest and taking in a deep breath of Milo's shirt that smelled like a mix of citrus fruit and engine fuel. “You’re right, I wanna go in a blaze of glory. Not trying to reunite my father with my mother.”

He whispered something sarcastic into her hair, but she couldn’t care less. The only thing that Ali wanted to do right now was stay wrapped in Milo’s arms, but she needed to get going.

“Where’s Shara?” Ali broke the hug after a few minutes. 

“The cockpit. Where else would she be?” Milo laughed.

“Are you going to say goodbye to me or are you just going to sit in there all day and mope?” Ali yelled loud enough that Shara would be able to hear her. 

A few seconds Ali could hear footsteps coming towards them. Shara had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders when she came around the corner. Her curly hair was going in every direction and her eyes were droopy from sleep. 

“Sorry, I fell back to sleep.” Shara yawned and gave Ali a sad smile. They stood there for a long time not knowing what to say to one another. What do you even say to you’re best friend before she goes on a suicide mission? All of a sudden Shara took a running towards Ali and she wrapped her in a tight hug. As soon as Shara was in Ali's arms she started to sob as if she had never cried before. 

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetie,” Ali whispered as she rubbed small circles on Shara’s back. She looked up and saw that Milo had tears in his eyes. He put his hand on Ali’s cheek and she nodded her head, “It’s gonna be okay. I’m….I’m gonna be okay.” Milo gave her a sad smile and joined the two girls in their hug. 

The three of them stayed like that for several minutes before either of them said anything. 

“I think it’s time that I get going.” Ali broke the hug and wiped away the tears that were down her cheek. She grabbed one of their hands and squeezed them tightly, “Promise me that the two of you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“How can we do anything stupid when you’re taking all of the stupid with you?” Milo laughed lightly. Ali rolled her eyes and yanked him down so she could kiss him. 

“Eww, I know you love him or whatever but that doesn’t you two can kiss in front of me.” Shara wined in disgust. 

Ali and Milo broke from their kiss giving Shara an annoyed look. 

“Oh, you’re just jealous.” Ali leaned in and kissed Shara on the cheek. Shara scrunched up her nose and gave her friend a disgusted look, but Alina just gave her a big smile. “Can you two at least promise me that you won’t kill each other?”

Milo and Shara gave one another a look that screamed of ‘I won’t start something as long as you don’t start anything’. They were bound to argue about something while Ali was gone, but it would give her some comfort knowing that both of them wouldn’t be dead by the other one’s hand. 

“We promise.” They both said in unison. 

“Good,” she gave them a soft laugh, “now before I go, I have something for the two of you.” Ali ran over to her bag that was on the floor and pulled something out of it. When she came back over Ali handed each of them a data chip with their name on it.

“What are these?” Milo gave Ali a confused look. 

“They’re goodbyes,” Ali gave him a teary smile, “I’m not saying goodbyes now because I know for a fact if I said what I said in these recordings in front of you,” her voice broke and she bit her lip stifling down a sob, “I wouldn’t be able to leave you two.”

“This guy better be worth it.” Shara lightly laughed as she wiped away tears. 

“He is,” Ali grabbed Sharas hand and gave it a tight squeeze, “my family is worth everything to me, even my life.” 

“Lina,” Milo's voice broke, “you will come back to us. I know it.”

“That’s why I’m not saying goodbye.” she reassured him, “it’s a see you soon. Goodbyes are too final.” 

“Then see you soon, Solo.” Shara wrapped Ali into a tight hug. Savoring the last moments that she had with her friend. When Ali let go it felt like her heart had broken in two, but then she turned to Milo and felt like a dagger had gone through her. He had a single tear streaming down his face, but still somehow was giving her an encouraging smile while holding her bag. Ali took two big steps and she was back in his arms kissing him again. 

“I love you, Alina Solo,” he whispered to Ali when their kiss broke. 

“I love you too, Milo Tico,” Ali gave him another quick peck on the cheek and placed her hand on his heart, “and I always will.”

Milo gave her another quick kiss then handed Ali her bag. As she slowly put the bag on her shoulders she savored the moment to look at her friends one last time. Remembering everything down to the way that Sharas curls were sticking up to the way that Milo’s dimples still were visible even when he was sad. She wanted to remember everything that she had never cared to notice before that she had wished she paid attention before.

“I love you, Nerf herders.” Ali gave them one last teary smile, and left the main hull of the ship before she said anything else sappy. 

* * *

As the loading rap was lowering, Ali was hit with the dense dry atmosphere of Exegol. The planet smelled like earth and almost like an electrical fire. There was something about it that made Ali’s stomach turn and her palms to become sweaty. She started to make her descent down the ramp but was stopped by Milo calling after her.

“Lina, wait!” He yelled as he met her on the ramp. 

“Milo, what is it?” She looked up at him confused. Was he really about to stop her?

“I have something for you.” from his pants pocket he pulled out the dice necklace that her mother had tried to gift her the night she found out about her father. Her eyes grew wide looking at the necklace. There was a part of Ali that wished that her anger hadn’t gotten the best of her and she had taken it but at least Milo was smart enough to grab it for her. 

“I thought you would need these,” Milo looked at the dice then back to Ali, “for luck.”

“For luck,” Ali nodded. Milo took the necklace and gently placed it around her neck. She rose to her toes one last time to give him a quick kiss.  _ Who knows if I’ll ever be able to kiss him after this,  _ Ali’s blood ran cold at the thought. She quickly turned and headed down the ramp without saying another word.

“Hey,” Milo called after her once she made contact with Exegol’s cracked earth. She turned around and tried to blink away the tear that had formed in her eyes. Ali could see that he was smiling, “may the Force be with you.”

Ali gave him a soft laugh and rolled her eyes,  _ I'm sure he’s waited his whole life to say that _ , she mused. Giving him a two-fingered salute she turned around and headed toward the large black cathedral that was in the distance. 

Milo watched her walk away until she was enveloped in a thick layer of fog before he closed the loading ramp. 


	11. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello beautiful people! Sorry that this chapter is getting out so late. I had a really rough time writing this chapter for some reason. I knew where I wanted the chapter to go but literally had no idea how to write it but I think I finally got it where I want it to be.  
> Anyway... I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy in these uncertain times and that you guys enjoy this chapter!!

**Hour 1**

As the loading ramp closed, Milo felt a pit forming in the bottom of his stomach. He knew deep down Alina would survive this. Lina was strong and no matter what she put up against she would be able to survive it. The only thing he could do now was waiting for her to come back. 

When Milo walked into the main hull Shara was sitting at the table drinking something dark out of a short glass. BB-8 scurried around his feet in hopes to cheer the boy up. 

“Drinking already, I see?” Milo raised a brow.

“Don’t worry, it’s just caf.” Shara set the glass back on the table, “I couldn’t find any mugs so I had to use this one.” 

Milo rifled through the cupboards to find himself a glass. When Ali was younger Rey would use the Falcon to take her students on trips for their training. She had taken out one of the storage rooms and converted it into a bedroom and a full kitchen was placed into the Falcon. Although in recent years Ali and Shara would take the ship for their own adventures and objects in the ship have gone missing or broken from their hijinks. He was able to find a dusty mug in a cupboard that hadn’t been opened in quite a long time. Once Milo was situated with his caf he took a seat across from Shara. They sat there silent for several minutes drinking their hot bitter liquids. Neither knew what exactly to say to one another. It wasn’t that the two weren’t close. They were more like brother and sister than best friends but neither of them was ever really serious. Their relationship was based on goofing off and making fun of each other, not worrying about if they would ever see Alina again.

“Are you okay?” Milo could tell that there was something wrong with Shara. 

“Of course, I’m not okay, Milo.” Shara’s voice was thick with emotion, “Our best friend just went on some crazy suicide mission to bring back a man that she doesn’t even know. Why didn’t you stop her? You kriffing love her and you let her go.” She slammed her fists on the table, tears were streaming down her face again, “How could you let her go?”

“How could I let her go?” Milo looked at her confused, “You’re her best friend. Lina is closer to you than she ever will be to me. Why didn’t you stop her? She would listen to you before I could ever get her to listen to me.”

“Oh please, Milo,” Shara got up from the table in frustration, “Ali barely even hangs out with me anymore she's too concerned about to even care about me.” 

“Maker Shara, don’t be such an overdramatic baby.” Milo rolled his eyes.

“Me, a baby? I am not a baby.” Shara yelled at him. 

“Oh please, you are the biggest baby that I know.” Milo yelled back at her, “ Whenever you don’t get your way you whine and complain and cry just like an insolent child.”

“No, I don’t.” Milo could see the tears starting to well in Shara’s eyes.

“You do it all of the time,” he could feel the anger rising in his voice, “and when you don’t get your way you go and run to your  _ daddy  _ to go and have him fix it for you.” 

Milo got up from his seat and closed the gap between the two of them, “You have always complained about everything that has happened in your life, and I get it you’re hurting, but I’m hurting too, and that does not give you the right to be nasty and act like you are the only one that is affected.”

Shara opened her mouth to yell something back at him but there was a loud knock outside. Milo spun around quickly, and Shara let out a yelp. 

“What the hell was that?” Milo looked back at Shara, “Did you find any life when we landed here?”

“No nothing came up on the scanners.” She pushed past him and headed towards the loading ramp with her hand on her blaster. There was another loud knock, “Who is it?” There was no way that Ali was already back, she had only been gone for an hour.

On the other side came a familiar female voice, “The only person that would be insane enough to follow you kids.” 

"Aunt Rey?” Shara was surprised. 

“Yes, can you please let me in?” Their aunt’s voice sounded annoyed.

Shara quickly hit the button to open the loading ramp and looked back to Milo, “How the hell did she find us so fast?” 

“No clue, but I’m sure she isn’t going to be happy about Ali being gone,” he admitted as the ramp hit the cracked ground of the planet.

When Rey came into view the two of them saw her let out a big sigh, as if all of the light in her body fell away. 

“Please, tell me that she’s still in there.” Rey’s eyes searched her nephew and niece's faces for answers but was only met with dried tears and blanked expressions. 

“She left about an hour ago.” Milo shook his head, “There was no way that we could stop her. Alina made her choice the second she found out that there was a chance that her dad could come back. I don’t even think you could have stopped her.”

“If there was one thing that I wish Ali didn’t inherit from me it was her determination for everything that she does.” Rey turned to look back at the black sith cathedral not too far in the distance, “I just wish….” 

Shara knew exactly what her aunt was about to say, “Lina knew that you were sorry for….” 

“Keeping her father a secret for eighteen years?” Rey cut her off, taking a few large steps up the ramp, “I don’t even think that I can forgive myself for keeping him from her for so long.” 

“You kept it for a good reason though,” Milo reassured her and Rey took his hand, giving it a tight squeeze, “all that we can do now is wait and hope that she comes back in one piece.”

“That they both come back in one piece.” Rey corrected him, “It’s either she brings him back or she won’t come back at all. Ali is too determined to stop if whatever the force brings to her is too dangerous. She will fight until the very bitter end.” 

Shara and Milo’s stomach started to do flips at the thought of having to leave this horrible planet without Ali by their side. 

“I can’t be here right now,” Shara pushed past Rey and Milo.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Rey called after the girl. 

“I just need some air,” She sobbed out as she headed down the ramp, “this is just too much.”

“What happened?” Rey turned to Milo with wide eyes. 

“We got into a fight,” Milo sighed, “I said some things that hurt her feelings that I shouldn’t have said. I think she’s just overwhelmed too with everything that’s happened.”

“We’re all overwhelmed.” Rey looked up at the sound of Shara climbing on the roof of the ship, “How are you?”

“Me? oh, I’m fine,” Milo's voice went up an octave, “I’m worried about her sure but I know she’ll be okay.” 

He was trying not to be suspicious but Rey saw right through it. 

“Milo, sweetie, you know that I know about you and Alina right?” Rey let out a light laugh. She started to head towards the main hull of the ship but Milo just stood there with a surprised look on his face. 

“Wait, what do you mean that you know?” Milo chased after her. Rey was already sitting down drinking a cup of caf. “How do you know?”

"A mother always knows, Milo,” She gave him a big smile, “but your uncle saw the two of you about a year ago kissing behind an X-wing and he told me.”

He started to nervously laugh, “Well, I guess we couldn’t keep it a secret forever. You’re not mad, are you?”

“Of course not,” She gave him a soft smile, “the two of you are practically made for each other. Even though you two used to fight like two loth cats.”

“Who would have thought that we would actually learn to love each other and stop trying to kill each other?” Milo remarked as he took a seat across from Rey.

“There was a point in time where I thought the two of you would never stop fighting.” She smiled at him, “Why didn’t you two tell us? It’s not like we would have been mad about it and it’s not like any of us thought that it wasn’t going to happen anyway.” 

“Ali thought that if you knew about us then it would make you upset about us being together and you not having anyone.” Milo shrugged, “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore though since she’s bringing him back.”

“It never would have made me upset” she started to laugh at the thought, “and I’m not getting my hopes up. ” a ghost of a smile danced on her lips just at the thought of Ben coming back. As hard as she was trying not to think about Ben coming back it was the only thing, besides Alina that she could think about. When Alina was little, Rey would dream and envision what it would be like if Ben was alive but they were only dreams. Although, now there was a chance that he could come back to her and finally meet his daughter.

“Is she like him?” Milos’s voice was quiet as if he didn’t want to disturb his aunt who he knew was deep in thought. 

Rey’s eyes seemed to light up at the question, “I would say that Alina and her father are more similar than she and I are.” she noticed that Milo's face dropped a little at the statement as if it wasn’t the answer he was looking for, “Milo, Ali is like Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren. She is kind, gentle, loyal and would do anything for the people that she loves. Not even when she is raging with anger do I see Kylo Ren but sometimes I think Kylo Ren was just a mask.”

“What do you mean?” Milo asked with a raised brow.

“He was always Ben, but he got stuck being this thing that he wasn’t and never would be. Ben thought there was no way his family would never accept him. He couldn’t find a way out of being what he wasn’t.”

“Wow, that was deep.” Milo laughed once Rey was finished.

Rey rolled her eyes, “You spend nineteen years trying to understand the person that you love and why they did the things that they did to get themselves killed, then we can talk.” 

The pair continued to talk for quite a while. Milo asked more questions about Ben and Rey was more than happy to answer them. It felt good to talk about him. She never really talked about him to anyone before. Rose would sometimes ask about Ben but that had stopped once Alina was born. 

They talked about Ali and how even though she drove them crazy they still loved her. The last thing that they talked about was about Shara. Milo told Rey about the fight that she and Ali had on their flight to Exegol and the fight he had with Shara only moments before she came. 

“You called her a baby?” Rey cringed. 

“I know,” Milo sighed, “but sometimes she really is one, and needs to be told that she is one.”

“Shara has always been the neediest one out of the three of you,” Rey had her fair amount of confrontations with Shara, “but I could only imagine what she's going through right now.”

“I’m going to have to apologize to her, aren’t I?” The boy seemed to grimace at the thought.

“Yeah, and I would probably do it sooner rather than later.” 

“Now?” the boy wined.

“Yes now,” Rey laughed, “I think she’s still on the roof.”

Milo got up from his seat and let out a deep sigh, “I’m convinced that these girls are trying to kill me.”

“Your dad used to say something fairly similar about your mom and me years ago.” She reminisced, “Don’t worry, they’ll mellow with age.”

“But you and my mom haven’t mellowed at all.”

“You’re not wrong,” she nodded her head, “now go say you’re sorry to Shara so we don't have to deal with her sulking the rest of the time while we're here.”

He rolled his eyes and with that he was off to go find Shara

* * *

**Hour 3**

Shara was perched on the very top of the Falcon exterior hugging her legs tightly and crying into her knees. As hard as she tried to stop crying she couldn’t. Shara just felt so overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the past few days. Shara was the first to learn the truth about Ali's dad and something deep down inside of her told her that nothing would ever be the same again. But, she didn’t expect that they would be here on Exegol waiting for Ali to either come back with her father or not to come back at all. The thought of Ali not coming back made even more tears well in her eyes. Shara always looked up to Ali even though they were so close in age. Ali was always there for her to pick Shara up when she was down. She was always there to get her to think logically before she ever did anything dangerous. Alina was her rock and she had no idea what she would do without her in her life. 

She lifted her head to look at the large dark structure that stood on the horizon and wondered what her friend was experiencing now. There was a sudden shift in the air around her. As though something was about to happen. The mist and fog seemed to thicken around her and there was a sudden chill in the air. Almost as if there was going to be a storm. Shara got up from her spot to go inside of the ship but someone called after her.

“Shara,” called the voice. 

“Hello,” she called out once she was on solid ground, “Aunt Rey? Milo?”

“Shara,” the voice called out again. It was a woman's voice, one that sounded so familiar but it couldn’t be. Could it?

“Who’s out there?” Shara yelled into the air.

“Shara don’t you recognize my voice?” the voice responded.

Her eyes went wide and once again started too well with tears. “That’s impossible,” she whispered trying to look through the dense fog.

“Mom?” Shara’s voice hitched in her throat. A few years ago she was cleaning out a drawer in her dad's home office when she found a holo of her mom from when her parents first started dating. The image itself didn’t show itself anymore but Shara could still hear her mom's voice. Shara would listen to it on repeat for months and continued to listen to it whenever she was having a bad day. Poe never knew that she had found it and it was probably for the best. 

“Mom,” she called out again and started to walk towards where her mom’s voice was coming from. 

“Come to me baby,” her mom's voice called, "come to your mommy.”

“Where are you?” Shara called out walking farther and farther away from the ship, “I can't find you?”

“Listen to the sound of my voice baby?”

She was getting closer and closer towards the black cathedral and could barely hardly see the Falcon anymore. Shara could hear footsteps coming towards her and started to walk faster trying to get away from whoever was after her. 

There were sudden flashes of lightning that hit the cracked surface of Exegol. Every time the lightning would hit the ground the grey sky would be illuminated. Not far in the distance, Shara could see a woman dressed in white with red curly hair. 

“Mom,” she yelled frantically. Shara started to run even faster towards her mom but when the light was gone so was her mom. Then there was another flash and she was in a different spot. This happened over and over and over again. 

“Mom where are you?” Shara cried out as she was running around circles. Chasing the specter back and forth made her dizzy. 

“Shara,” Milo’s hand grabbed Shara’s arm before she fell down, “who are you talking to?”

“My mom Milo, can you see her?” she was still looking out to the horizon where she last saw her, but couldn’t see anything. Her mom's voice stopped calling for her. “Can you hear her?”

“Shara, what are you talking about? I don’t hear anything,” Milo could see the color drain from his friend's face as she realized that her mom wasn’t really there.

“But I could hear her, Milo! I could hear my mom.” Tears started to stream down her face, “She's out there! I know it.” Shara broke from Milo's grip and started running yelling for her mom. Begging for her to show herself. Begging for her to come back. Milo followed after her as she screamed until she collapsed to her knees from exhaustion. He knelt down and slowly rubbed her back in hopes to soothe her, but it wasn’t working. Gently he wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up to take her back to the falcon. 

“I heard yelling, what happened?” Rey yelled coming down the ramp of the ship, “So did you two….” she stopped talking as soon as she saw Milo carrying a still crying Shara. “What happened?” 

“I don’t know. I went to go apologize and she was running around calling for her mom.” Milo looked down at the girls clutching to his chest. “I don’t know what happened or what she saw or heard, but she thinks her mom is out there.”

Rey looked down at the girl's disheveled form in Milo's arms. She had felt something change in force not long after Milo had left to go made amends with Shara. It felt as though all of the light that existed around her had diminished and she felt a sudden dark power come through that she hadn’t felt in years.

“Ok, take her inside, I'll be in in a minute.” Milo nodded his head and carried Shara into the ship.

Taking a deep breath Rey walked out into the open air of the planet looking to see if she could see anything. Even though she couldn’t see anything she could feel a dark presence. This planet was home of the Sith for generations, and she wouldn’t be surprised if there were still a few that there weren't any Sith spirits that were still present here. As if on cue, there was a crash of lightning in the distance, light up the gray sky and a familiar cackle rang in her ears that made her blood run ice cold. She quickly turned on her heels and ran inside of the ship closing the ramp behind her. Her heart was practically pounding out of her chest and the ringing in her ears was so loud that she didn’t even realize that Milo was standing, staring at her. 

“Aunt Rey,” he said, and the sound caused her to shriek.

Milo's eyes went wide, and he took a step back, “Are you ok?”

“Oh, it’s just you,” She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, “yeah, I’m fine. I just thought I saw something, but it was just my imagination.” she could see the worry in his eyes, “Where’s Shara?” Rey quickly changed the subject.

“I put her in the crew’s quarters. Are you sure you’re ok?” The boy was smarter than he looked, “Is there something out there?”

“I don’t know,” Rey wasn’t lying. She didn’t know what was out there exactly but, “we’ll talk after I go see if Shara is okay, alright?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll be in the cockpit.”

When Rey walked into the bedroom she found Shara still crying and curled up into a ball on one of the two beds. Her heart broke when she saw how upset and devastated her niece was. Rey herself knew what this pain was like. That false hope of thinking that you would actually be able to be reunited with someone that you love, but in the end, it's nothing but smoke and mirrors. 

“Hi, sweetie,” Rey knelt to be eye level with her, “do you wanna talk about it?”

Shara took in a few sharp breaths trying to calm herself down and steady her breathing. She slowly sat up wiping away the tears that were still falling down her cheeks. 

“Do you think….Do you think that she's out there? Do you think my mom is there too?” her voice was quiet and was barely even a whisper. 

Rey slowly took Shara’s hands into her and slowly shook her head, “No sweetie, I don’t think your mom is in there.”

Shara knew the answer, but she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to believe that her mom was alive, but that was impossible. Rey could feel that her niece was about to break down again, so she joined her on the bed and wrapped her into a tight embrace. Rey held her as she sobbed and sobbed into her shoulder. As Rey started to rub circles on her back, she slowly started to calm down. They were quiet for a few minutes after Shara had calmed down. The two of them just sat there holding each other until Shara broke the silence. 

“Then what was that?” her voice cracked slightly, “What was that thing if it wasn’t my mom?”

“Well,” Rey broke their hug and put her hands on Shara’s shoulders, “Did Ali ever tell you about force ghosts?”

Shara nodded her head, “Yeah, why? Do you think that is what was out there?”

“No, a Jedi wouldn’t do this, but I think a Sith ghost would.”

“Sith ghost?” Rey could see the horror in Sharas eyes.

“Yes, Sith ghosts are very different from force ghosts. A force ghost can choose when they can come and go. They can go wherever they choose as well, but for Sith ghosts, their souls are stuck where they die…”

“So what you’re telling me is that there are thousands of Sith ghosts on this planet?” The young girl went pallor.

“I think so, and I don’t think that they are happy that we are here.” Rey let out a sigh. 

“Of course, they aren’t happy that we are here.” Shara pointed out, “Ali is on her way to bring back her dead dad and you were the one that killed all of them the last time you were here. Are they going to come after us?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.” both of them became very silent for a few moments only imagining what else these ghosts could be capable of. 

“We need to stay together,” Rey said breaking the silence. She got up and offered her hand to Shara. 

“We should go find Milo,” Shara said as she took Rey's hand.

  
  


* * *

  
  


As Ali got closer and closer to the Sith cathedral she could feel the darkness radiating off of it. She was taking the same steps that her parents had taken nineteen years prior. Even though there was so much darkness around her the force was still there to guide her. Ali trusted the force. She trusted that it would take her exactly where she needed to go. Once she hit the center of the cathedral the ground below her started to shift and before she knew it she was descending into the earth. 

She couldn’t believe that this was happening. That she was going to bring back her father and meet him. 

Finally, after waiting for eighteen years she would finally have a dad. 

Even though she was practically jumping up and down with excitement Ali was scared, no, terrified of what was going to happen to her. Terrified of what she was about to experience in her trials. 

Yoda said that she could perish. Ali could die and that everything that she was about to go through would have been for nothing. That dragging her friends to Exegol would have been for nothing. She was so scared of leaving her mom alone. It took her mom several years before she told Ali about her childhood on Jakku and how she didn’t have a family. 

Her mom had been alone for most of her life until she met BB-8 and Finn. From then on she always had a family that was there for her. Rey would always have her resistance family, but Ali was her real family. Ali was her mother's reason for continuing to live after Ben had died. If Rey lost her, then she would have nothing. 

Once the stone had stopped, Ali continued her journey into the cavernous temple. Ali had been to many old Jedi temples with her mother, but she had never seen a temple quite like this. Giant statues towered over her, making her feel even smaller than she already did. She walked slowly as the force guided her to where she needed to go. 

As she got closer and closer into the cathedral she could feel the air around her become thicker and there was a sudden chill in the air, like everything became darker. Ali knew that she was getting closer to the entrance to the world between worlds because of how the light and good energy that she had felt dissolved away. 

When Ali walked into the throne room her blood ran cold.  _ This is where he died,  _ Ali thought as she saw the spot where it had happened. She recognized it from when she had touched her father's saber. Ali could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she walked towards the very spot where it happened. Looking around the space around her she could see the broken throne that was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

The force was telling her that this is where she needed to be, but there was nothing here but piles of rubble. Ali had hit a dead end and the force wasn’t giving her any answers. It was times like these where her mother would tell her that she needed to meditate. That she needed to clear her mind if she wanted to find any more answers. 

So, that was exactly what she did. 

Ali sat down in the spot where her father sacrificed himself for her mother. She closed her eyes and tried to center herself thinking about the people that she loved. Ali thought of her mother, she thought of Milo and Shara, she thought of her family and most importantly she thought about her father.

All of a sudden there was a shift in the air. The air was no longer thick with humidity, it was cooler almost as if she were in a building and the ground that she was sitting on was solid but smooth. Ali was no longer in the temple at Exegol. 

When Ali opened her eyes she was in a red throne room. The throne room that had belonged to….

“Darkness rises and light to meet it,” on a throne not far in front of her sat a disfigured man in a gold robe, “I might not have Skywalker, but I guess you'll do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: We probably have like 4, maybe 5 chapters before we get to Ben actually being back. Just a heads up. I love pain and drama so that's exactly what my children will be going through. *very cute maniacal laugh*
> 
> With lots of love!!  
> Em


	12. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can ya'll believe that I posted a chapter that isn't late? No, me either! Just a heads up the next few chapters are going to be shorter mainly because I can't write action scenes but I should be posting a little more frequently than I was.  
> I hope that you guys enjoy it even though it's really short and have a great rest of your week!!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em

“Snoke,” Ali knew very little about the original Supreme Leader of the First Order, but she did recognize him though from the vision she had when she touched her father’s saber. Slowly getting up, Ali glanced down at her hip to make sure that her saber and blaster were still attached to her hip. She had a feeling that she was going to need it.

“You are a very powerful, my child,” Snoke gave an evil grin, “great-granddaughter to Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, daughter of the mighty Kylo Ren.”

“He goes by Ben Solo now,” Ali spat at him, “He killed you anyway, so why do you care that I’m his daughter?” She knew that what she was a manifestation of a dark power. That this wasn’t really her father’s villainous mentor. 

“Hmmm yes, but it’s not you that I’m interested in.” He gave an evil laughed, “It’s your power that I’m after, dear girl.”

Being around Snoke made her uneasy, but she couldn’t let him know how scared she was of him, so she used her good old Solo whit.

“You know that I have a name right?” Ali shot at him.

“Oh yes, I know your name, child.” Snoke got up from his seat and pointed a skeleton-like finger, “You were born Alina Leia Skywalker eighteen years ago, but recently you have been calling yourself Alina Solo.” 

“It’s kind of creepy that you know everything about me and I don’t know anything about you, Snoke.” 

“Enough with the pleasantries girl.” Ali could suddenly feel herself being pulled close towards the monster of a man and her saber was removed from her hip by the flick of his wrist. She tried to move her hand towards her blaster but she was frozen solid with her arms stiff against her sides. “Nearly 20 years ago I knew that my apprentice had compassion for that scavenger that you call a mother.”

“My mother is a Jedi and is far more powerful than you can even dream of becoming.” As she was pulled closer to Snoke she could truly see how deformed and hideous he was. 

“Oh yes, the daughter of a defected clone of Darth Sidious and a nobody mother,” The creature snarled, “she was naturally born with her power, but you girl you’re more powerful than all of them put together.”

Ali had been told for years about how powerful she was. Not only her mother, but by her family, by her friends, by the other students at the temple and to be honest she was sick of it. Ali didn’t need to be reminded of it every single day. Even though her mother was a powerful Jedi, Ali always thought that her powers were different and even now knowing the truth of who her lineage she still felt like the gift that she had was different. Maybe it was because she was the child of a Dyad? Or, maybe her power was something completely different?

“You aren’t wrong,” Ali had to think of a plan and fast. Even though her arms were stiff to her sides she could still move her fingers. “I am extremely powerful in the force,” Moving her fingers slowly, Ali was able to turn the hilt of her saber to face him, “but I’m not powerful because of my bloodline. I know how to destroy you.” 

With one swift flick of her fingers, the green blade of her saber ignited into Snoke’s side.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Milo sat in the cockpit watching as the lightning hit the cracked surface of Exegol. He had never seen a storm quite like this before. Growing up on Chandrila, Milo rarely saw any lightning storms, but there was something about this one that took him by surprise. There weren’t any storm clouds and it was too cold to be coming from heat. It was almost like the lightning was coming out of mid-air and not falling in any sort of pattern. 

BB-8 beeped nervousness as a strike of lightning hit almost too close to the Falcon. 

“It’s okay BB, it’s just lightning.” Milo tried to reassure the droid, “We’ll be out of here soon.” At least he hoped that they would be leaving soon. 

The orange and white droid bumped up against the pilot's seat and made sad noises.

“Yeah, I miss her too buddy.” The droid came over and rested his dome head up against Milo's leg. “At least us two guys get to hang out without the girls for once.”

Milo didn’t really have any guy friends. Sure, there were a few guys that he hung out with from the landing platform and he was friends with a few pilots, but he mostly spent his time with Ali and Shara. It wasn’t even because Ali insisted that he spend most of his time with her or that he felt like he had to constantly babysit the two of them. Milo just enjoyed being with them. They were his first friends, the two people that he trusted the most. Even though he was convinced that they were trying to kill him.

All of a sudden there was a crash from outside the cockpit door. Milo sprang to his feel and BB-8 whirled around.

“What the hell was that?” Milo asked as he walked over to the door. When the automatic door opened nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. “Aunt Rey, Shara, is everyone ok?”

As he walked around the ship nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was how it was before the incident with Shara. He started to head back towards the cockpit when a hand came out of one of the storage rooms and dragged him into it. 

“Who was that?” The room was pitch black, but whoever pulled him in the room was laughing. It almost sounded like…. No, it can’t be. Milo quickly fumbled around his hand on the wall looking for a light switch. When he finally found the switch, he flicked it on and couldn’t believe who was standing before him. 

Alina stood in front of him dressed head to toe in black with her dark hair slicked back into a bun on the top of her head and lips painted a deep crimson. Her cheeks and eyes look like they were sunken in. She almost looked like she was sick.

“Well, aren’t you going to welcome me back?” Ali curled her lips into a wide smile.

“Lina,” Milo was in shock. How was she back already? She had only just left a few hours ago. There was no way that she was back already but yet here she was in front of him. “Is it really you?”

“Of course it’s me,” She took a step forward to close the distance between them wrapping her arms around his shoulders, “who else would it be?”

“Why are you wearing this?” He looked into her eyes and he noticed that something was different about them. The normal brown warmth that they had was gone. Now they were dull showing no spark of light.

“What, don't you like it?” Ali frowned, “I thought you would like a change?” 

Milo went to speak again but Ali went up on her toes and enveloped Milos lips with hers. The kiss was different from any kiss that they had shared before. It was passionate and hungry. As much as Milo enjoyed this kiss he knew something was wrong. This wasn’t Ali, or at least this wasn’t his Ali.

He pulled away, “Wait, something’s wrong. This isn’t you.” Milo took a step back, breaking the embrace with, “You aren’t Ali.” 

“What do you mean, Milo?” She cupped his cheeks and went to kiss him but Milo pulled away. 

“No, this isn’t right,” he pushed her off of him. Milo tried to find the button to open the door, but couldn’t find it.

“What’s wrong, baby? nobody is around to interpret us. We can finish what we started this morning.” The fake Ali took another dive at Milo but before her lips could meet his, Milo found the button to open the door and it flew open. He quickly ran out of the room and locked the door behind him. 

As soon as the door shut Milo could hear this dark version of Ali throw herself against the door. She was kicking and screaming for him to open the door. He looked at the door in horror as her screams became louder and louder. Her pounding at the door turned into clawing and her screams almost sounded inhuman. There was no way that Shara and his aunt couldn’t hear this. 

“Stop!” Milo screamed. He had never heard anything so horrible in his whole life. His heart knew that it wasn’t Ali on the other side of the door, but his brain thought differently. What he saw looked like Ali, sounded like her, felt like her, but it wasn’t her. He was horrified by what was in there. Milo started to crumble to his knees and cover his ears. “Stop, please stop.” he was crying and shaking in fear.

Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder. Milo cowered in fear not knowing who was touching him. 

“Milo, honey what’s wrong?” Rey’s voice sang through his ears. 

He looked up to her with wide eyes, “What the hell was that?”

“What was what honey?” His aunt crouched down in front of him. 

“I saw Ali,” tears started welling in his eyes, “but it wasn’t her. It looked like her and sounded like her but she was different. I… I think she was dark.”

Rey looked back to Shara both girls knew exactly what Milo had seen. “We have something to tell you.”

* * *

As Alis saber was called back to her hands, eight Praetorian guards came to surround her. She had seen these guards before when she witnessed her parents battle them but in that battle, each of them had to only take on four but Ali had to take on all eight. 

When the first guard came after her with a running start with an ax. As the guard came closer and closer towards her she acted fast and deflected its blow. The guard went in for another but Ali jabbed her saber into the crimson armor. 

She spun around quickly finding another guard charging towards her with an electric whip. Ali went to swing at his legs but the guard grabbed her saber with his weapon. Curling his weapon in his hands he dragged her closer and closer towards him. Acting fast she kicked her leg out in front of her. Luckily her kick was powerful enough that the guard was knocked backward stumbling into another guard causing them to fall into a large mechanical fan that chopped into a million flaming red pieces. 

A small smile started to form on her lips. Ali had never been in a real battle before and there was something about it that was so exhilarating, so feral. _Three down, five to go_ , but her victory was short-lived as she could sense another pair of guards heading towards her. 

Both guards had double-bladed staff and charged at her simultaneously. Ali was able to deflect one of the guards' blows, but one of them slashed her leg. She screamed out in agony as the smell of burnt flesh entered her nostrils. A growl deep within Ali came out. With one hand she grabbed one of the guards with the force by the neck, snapping it as if it were nothing but a twig and with her saber, she jabbed it straight into the other guard’s crimson helmet. 

The final three guards circled around her like she was prey and they were her predators. One had two daggers in his hands, another had a whip and the other had an ax. If Ali did this right she would have been able to kill the guards without any other casualties. She slowly reached her down to her hip and grabbed her blaster. The guard with the two daggers made a move throwing one of the daggers towards her abdomen. She quickly took a shot at it. The blast moved the trajectory of the dagger and it landed directly into one of the guard’s legs and he fell forward. With one quick swipe, she was able to slide the blade across the guard’s abdomen, killing him instantly. 

With his final dagger, the guard made a charge towards Ali. She jumped out of the way causing the guard to fall forward and just missed catching the whip of the other guard. Ali rose her blaster and shot it directly into the seam where his helmet met his neck. 

It was now just Ali and the final Praetorian guards. He smacked his whip on the ground in a way to provoke her. 

“Come at me, big red,” Ali yelled taunting the guard. Spinning her saber around she let out a battle cry and charged towards the guard. Once again the guard attempted to strike her with his whip but missed her. Sliding forward on her knees, Ali cut through the guard leaving him in two halves. As the guards top half toppled to Ali quickly got back to her knees. 

All eight guards were dead and by her hand. Ali was breathing heavily as she watched the red throne room, and all of the dismembered bodies dissolved away. Before she knew it she was back in the throne room in Exegol. She was exhausted and as she slowly sat down the throbbing on her leg became more and more apparent. 

Ripping off a piece of the scarf that was wrapped around her, she created a tourniquet around the wound on her thigh. Hot tears ran down her face from how badly her leg was hurting her. Ali had received her fair share of battle scars, but not one quite as bad as this one. The gash was deep and took up nearly a quarter of her thigh. Once she had placed the bandage tight enough she closed her eyes and began to meditate.

Waiting for whatever was about to come after her next. 


	13. Ready Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! First, Happy Earth Day!!!! Second, I wanted to get this up by Sunday but my 15 page paper on gorillas (have I mentioned that I'm majoring in biology) took over my life. Also, my keyboard and trackpad on my laptop decided that they weren't going to work anymore so I have spent quite a few hours trying to figure out how to fix it, but I wanted to get this to you guys at least by today. I really want to bring Ben back by the fourth, so expect chapters a little bit more frequently once my semester is finished.  
> Anyway... I hope all of you lovely humans have a great week, are staying healthy, and enjoy this chapter.  
> With lots of love!!  
> Em

Ali struggled to calm herself down. Her heart felt as if it was beating out of her chest and her breathing was still erratic and labored. It had been at least an hour since her trial against Snoke and the Praetorian guards, but she still felt jittery. When she had been warned of the trials she never expected that she would have to fight her parent’s enemies. Ali knew what she had just experienced was just a manifestation of some dark force, but it felt so real.

She could feel it when her saber stabbed through each of the guard’s armor. The smell of their electric weapons still lingered in her nose. When she closed her eyes she could still see the brilliant red fabric that covered the room. It all felt so intangible yet so tangible all at the same time. The burning sensation and blood that had stained her thigh kept on reminding her that what she experienced was clearly more than an illusion. 

Starting to close her eyes again, Ali tried to calm herself down and focus on the task at hand, but her mind was racing. As she sat there in the silence, she couldn’t help but think of the first time her mother taught her how to meditate. Ali was no more than eight years old when her mother decided that it was time for her to learn the ways of the force. She was already showing signs that she was force sensitive when she was a little girl, but Rey had decided that it was time for her young daughter to be taught in the ways of the force. 

A small smile started to grace her lips remembering the day as if it were just yesterday. Ali was far too exciting to sit down and be quiet. Rey had taken Ali out of Hanna City for the day where they had found a meadow in the countryside that was full of wildflowers. Ali tried her best to listen to her mother’s instructions; sit still, close your eyes, let your mind go blank, but as soon as she thought she had gotten the hang of it a beautiful blue butterfly landed on her hand. Ali remembered that she had never seen a butterfly that beautiful before and from that day on she seemed to always see them. Rey had decided that it wasn’t the day for her training to begin. They spent the rest of the day playing in the meadow and having fun.

Then as if on clockwork as soon as she felt as though she had calmed down, there was a chill in the air that wasn’t there before and a few raindrops started to fall on her cheek. Ali opened her eyes quickly realizing that her second trial was about to begin. It was nighttime where she sat now and the rain started to fall harder. Not far in the distance, she could see six black-clad figures walking towards her. She got up quickly and ignited her saber in preparation for her second trial. 

* * *

**Hour 6**

Milo, Shara, and Rey sat around the Djakar table in an almost eerie silence. Rey had given Milo a few minutes to calm down before she told him about what she believed was the cause of what he and Shara had experienced. As she was telling him, he sat in silence taking in every that his aunt had to say.

“I feel like the longer we are here, the more I hate this planet,” Milo whispered, breaking the silence.

“I know the feeling.” Rey sighed. Both kids nodded their heads in agreement. They could only imagine what it was like for her to come back to this horrible planet. The planet where she had lost the love of her life. Exegol was a place with only horrible memories for their aunt. Hopefully, there would be some good memories that would be approaching them soon.

“Do you think these ghosts can hurt us?” Shara asked, “I mean Milo just made out with one, so clearly they can touch us and we can touch them.”

Milo rolled his eyes, “It’s not like I wanted too! It pinned me to the wall, and before I even realized what was happening it stuck its tongue down my throat.”

“Was she hot?” Shara inquired, knowing that it would make his blood boil, “I feel like our dear, sweet Alina dressed in all black would be a sight to see.”

“Alright, Shara we get it!” Rey stopped before her niece said another word. The image of the darker version of herself that she had seen all those years ago popped in her head. It was a fright for her to see it and she could only imagine the horror of Milo seeing the girl he loved in that situation. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, “Yes, I do think that they can hurt us.”

“What are we going to do?” Milo brow went up.

“Nothing,” Rey said bluntly, “we’re going to stay together, and sit here until Alina gets back. We’re safer together than apart.”

“What makes you think that they won’t bother us if we’re together?” Shara leaned back in her seat to get comfortable.

“Oh no, I think they will still try and bother us, but I think that three of us taking on one of these monsters is better than one,” Rey reassured.

“So, we’re just going to sit here and wait until some evil scary ghost tries to attack us again?” Milo asked sarcastically,” Great. Awesome. I hate this planet.”

They sat silently once again, Milo was right though, they all hated this planet. Nothing good could ever come from a horrible planet like this, but maybe just maybe some ounce of good could come from it. 

All of a sudden one of the alarms on the opposite side of the ship started going off. All three of them sprang out of their seats covering their ears at the loud noise. 

“What the hell was that?” Shara yelled as she grabbed the blaster from her hip.

“I don’t know.” Rey grabbed her saber, “You two stay here, I’ll go see what that was.”

“What about us staying together?” Milo yelled to his aunt as she ran to see what happened.

“That was before I thought they wouldn’t bother us again,” she turned around on her heels, “I’ll be fine, just stay here.”

With that Rey left her niece and nephew alone again. 

“Well, I guess now we know where Ali gets her need to jump into dangerous situations from.” Shara laughed lightly as she sat down.

“And her stubbornness.” Milo sighed as he sat across from Shara.

* * *

  
  


Ali had seen these figures before when she had touched her father’s saber. It was only for a moment but she had an idea who exactly was her next trial would be against. 

She had heard stories of the Knights of Ren but similar to her background information about Kylo Ren it was very limited. Ali knew that they were his knights, but wasn’t how they had become so. She guessed that they were skilled at fighting, there was no way that her father wouldn’t have the best of the best fight by his side.

As they got closer towards her, she could sense that they were force sensitive, but that did have any proper training on how to use it. She could already tell that they were going to be more of a challenge to take down than the Praetorian guards. 

“Great,” Ali huffed out in frustration.

She started to walk towards the knights as the storm around them started to become more intense. The rain-soaked through her clothes and she could feel the braid that held her hair in place started to come undone. Ali was no longer in the temple anyway. She now stood in a field that was more mud than anything else. 

They started to circle her similar to how the Praetorian guards had. A shiver of fear went down her spine. The knights of Ren towered over her. Making herself feel even smaller than she already was. All six of them wore masks different to cover their faces and their armor looked like it was from a different time. 

She laid her hand over her saber as she spun slowly observing her enemies weapons. None of them carried a saber, just large knives and swords. Ali had never seen weapons like them before. 

There were two options that she had, either wait until they attacked her or she was going to have to make the first move. 

She went with the latter. 

With one quick move, Ali took her saber off of her hip and ignited it. Without hesitation one of the knights raised their weapon and went to strike Ali. She moved out of the way as another knight rose, his large blade to take her head off, but Ali already knew exactly what the knight was about to do. 

Actually, she knew exactly what all of the infamous Knights of Ren were about to do.

Ali didn’t know how, but she knew exactly what each of their next moves were. Maybe it was the force lending her a helping hand or maybe it was embedded in her because of her father. These men used to be his comrades after all. 

She took a step forward and embedded her saber into the knight that went for her head. Two of the knights went after her this time but with all of her strength, she threw both of them a couple of yards away. Killing the two of them on impact.

Another knight went towards her and went to strike her with his large knife, but Ali was able to deflect his blow with her saber. He went to strike her again, but took a step moving past her. Ali spun around and slashed him in the back, cutting through his spine. 

The final two knights stalked around her. Ali could tell that they were the strongest of the group, but she wasn’t afraid or at least she did show it. At the same time, both knights attacked. One of them took their sharp blade to Ali’s ankles, but just grazed over them, and the other one struck her on the stomach with the flat side of his weapon but before she fell Ali tossed her saber and stabbed the other knight in the chest. 

The next thing she knew Ali was gasping for air laying in the mud. Her hand fell to her side, fumbling to find her blaster. She could hear the final guard laughing as he raised his weapon to finish the job, but before he could make his move Ali raised her blaster and shot right between his eyes. The knight started to fall forward on top of her, but dissolved before impact. 

The torrential downpour that was happening around her had stopped and she was back laying on the cold stone floor of the temple on Exegol. She tried to sit up but the pain in her abdomen was too great. Ali slowly brushed her hand across her stomach. As she lifted it to her face she half expected it to be covered in blood.

She had never had a blow like that before. It had taken all of the oxygen out of her lungs. There was no way that she didn’t have any broken ribs. The stinging, pulsating sensation in her sides practically confirmed it. Gasping for air she knew that she needed to sit up to get proper airflow to her lungs. 

As Ali attempted to prop herself up into a sitting position she nearly gagged at the pain. It made her stomach acid turn and before she knew it she was dry heaving. 

There was never a moment in her eighteen years where she wanted to give up more than in this, but she was nearly there. Halfway done with her trials. Just two more and she would finally have her prize.

That’s what she had to keep telling herself.

Just two more trials.

Just.

Two. 

More.

* * *

As Rey came down the hallway of the ship she knew that something was happening, and that a ghost from the Sith was behind it. She went to the control panel in the back and turned the alarm off. As she inspected the area nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but she decided that it would be a good idea to walk around the back of the ship. 

Rounding the corner she noticed that the door to the captain’s quarters was open and the lights were on. Rey didn't think that they were on when she was back here checking on Shara, but she admittedly hadn’t noticed it. When she walked into the room to turn the lights off, the door slammed forcefully behind her. Rey tried to hit the button for the door to open, but it wouldn’t open when all of a sudden the lights went out. She began to pound on the door praying that Milo and Shara would hear her. 

She stopped knocking to listen if anyone was able to hear anything outside the door, but heard only silence.

“Oh, come on,” Rey yelled slamming fists on the metal door. Then something in the air changed. It became thick, like the air outside and like someone was in the room with her. She turned slowly and ignited her saber. “Who’s in here? Show yourself.” 

Then there was a laugh that she could hear as clear as day. The laugh that haunted her dreams for years. The laugh that she hoped she would never have to hear again. 

“Welcome back home, granddaughter,” the voice of Palpatine rang through Rey’s ears. 

“No,” Rey's voice was thick, “you’re dead. You’re not here.”

“How right you are, girl. Physically I am not here, but my soul has not left.”

So her hypothesis was right. It was a Sith ghost that was causing everything, but she didn’t expect that it would be Darth Sidious that would be doing it. 

“What do you want with us?” Rey took a step forward as she inspected the area around her.

“Nothing with you girl,” the voice spat at her, “but I am interested in your child that is far stronger than you in the place where you murdered me.”

“Don’t you dare touch her!” her voice broke at the thought of him laying a hand on Ali. 

“Oh don’t worry I won’t touch her.” she couldn’t see his face but Rey knew that he was smiling, “She’s my great-granddaughter after all, but I can’t promise that the rest of the Sith that you murdered won’t harm her.”

Rey could feel her anger rising, of course, he would have someone else do his dirty work. The last thing she wanted was for Ali to be harmed by the ghosts of her past. She took her saber and slashed into the empty room. As her saber fell through the open-air the lights in the room turned on and the hydraulic door opened. 

Her eyes went wide as they adjusted to the light looking around to see if there was anyone was in the room. When she realized that nobody was in the room and it felt like she could finally breathe again. Rey extinguished her saber and let out a deep sigh but still felt so anxious that tears started to well in her eyes.

She sat on the bed and covered her face with her hands as she let the tears run down her face. Never in a million years did she expect that she would have to encounter that monster again, yet again she never thought that she would ever have to come to this planet again. 

As Rey started to calm down she rested her hand on the bed and noticed something hard was under her hand. She wiped away the few tears that were in the corner of her eyes and picked up whatever was under her hand. 

When Rey realized what it was she let out a quiet sob and even more, tears started to well in her eyes. In her hands was a data chip with “Momma” etched into its side. 


	14. Momma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo this chapter is really short but there is a reason why. I usually send my beta sections of what I write as I finish them. When I sent this to her she replied with "That's all you need for the chapter. If you write anything else they won't be able to read it because they will be too emotionally distraught to finish." So yes, this chapter is really sad but it needed to be done. *Blows kiss into the air*  
> I hope everyone is staying healthy and trying to find the little joys in these crazy times.  
> Lots of love,  
> Em

Rey ran a finger over the etched writing on the data chip and wondered when the last time Ali had called her that. 

“Momma,” She whispered to herself, as a tear ran down her cheek. 

It wasn’t long after Ali had turned one that she had started speaking. Rey could hardly keep it together when she first heard Alina ‘Momma’ for the first time. From that day on until she was about ten Rey was always ‘momma,’ and now seeing that her grown-up daughter wrote one last time made her heart almost crumble into a million pieces.

Blinking away tears, Rey set the data chip back onto the bed and got up walking towards the drawers that were on the opposite side of the room. She knew there was a holo reader in one of these drawers. The first few draws were full of extra bedding, spare clothes, spare parts, and tools, but no holo reader. She was about to give up and go to the one that was in the cockpit, but as she rifled through the last drawer where she found exactly what she was looking for. 

The holo reader had certainly seen better days. It was just as old as she was but it would do the trick. 

When Rey made it back to the bed she hesitated to put the data chip in. She had no idea what could possibly be on it. Whatever was on this chip though could be the last thing that her daughter will ever say to her. The last time she will ever hear Alina’s sweet voice and see her kind face. Her fingers trembled as she placed the chip inside and hit the play button.

“Hi, Momma,” Alina was sitting where Rey sat now on the bed. Her legs were crossed with her hands folded in her lap. A teary smile started to spread across Rey’s face at the sight of her daughter. 

When Ali was first born Rey wondered what her daughter would look like. She had been born with tufts of black hair and Rey was certain that her blue eyes would turn into her father's golden-brown eyes. Ali grew up to look similar to Rey, but there was something about her daughter that she couldn’t place her finger on. It wasn't until she and Poe were digging through old holos dating not long after the defeat of the Empire did she realize that her daughter looked like her grandmother, Leia Organa when she was younger. But here at this moment, Alina reminded Rey so much of Ben. 

Ali had the same smile that he had when she had said his name on Exegol all those years ago. She looked so strong and brave but Ali also looked like she was about to break at any moment.

“If you’re watching this,” Ali took in a sharp breath, “then that means that I’m gone.”

Rey’s throat started to burn at the thought that her daughter had to sit here and say her final goodbyes to the people that she loved most.

“I don’t even know where to start.” the young girl ran a hand through her soft curls, “I guess I should start with saying that I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry that I said that I hated you. When I don’t and even though you have kept such a huge piece my life hidden from me, I’m honestly glad that you didn’t tell me until now.” Rey’s eyes went wide, surprised her daughter said that she was  _ glad _ that she hadn’t told her until now who her father really was. 

“I think if you had told me earlier I wouldn’t be here now.” She rolled her eyes and laughed nervously, “Sure, I wouldn’t be dead, but momma... I had to do this. I had to know if I could bring him back. I’ve lived for eighteen years without a father. I was convinced that he either didn’t give a damn about me, or was just a one-time thing, nothing but stardust after Exegol, and never knew about me. Ben Solo wasn’t a one-time thing though. He always meant more to you than anything or anyone that you had ever met. The moment that you knew that there was a man behind the mask you knew he was someone that was going to change your life.”

“I know you were protecting me from what it would be like to live in a world where people would only know me as the bastard of Kylo Ren and not the loved and wanted child of Ben Solo.”

Rey knew the moment that Alina was born that Ben would have loved her. She didn’t even know if he wanted children, but the moment her daughter was placed in her arms, she knew that Ben would have loved their baby as much as she did.

Ali was quiet for a few moments. She opened her mouth a few times like she was trying to talk. Trying to have the strength to say what she wanted to say next.

“The only thing that I regret,” Ali choked on her words and Rey could see the outline of tears trailing down her face, “is that I have left you alone once again.” A sob broke through Ali that made Rey wish that she could give her little girl one last hug, one last kiss on the cheek, one last I love you.

“Not only don’t you have the man that you love, but you don’t even have the one last piece that you had of him. I’m sorry that we’re both gone. Stars I’m so sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to bring him back. That we couldn’t be the family that we were always meant to be. The family that we were destined to be.”

“I know that you’ll have Finn, Rose, and Poe to get you through this. I know that they will be there for you now more than ever because they have always been there for you from the very beginning. If I have one dying wish though it’s that you promise me that you won’t let Shara and Milo kill each other. The only reason they haven’t done it yet is because I was always there to keep the peace and I’m afraid now that I’m gone they’ll actually do it.” 

“I also hope that you find some joy and peace in the galaxy, momma. I can only imagine what it was like for you to lose the man you love, but your only child too.” Ali closed her eyes trying to find her footing, “I know you will mourn me. I know the next few months, years, and decades are going to be excruciatingly painful and hard, but please try and find some beauty and love in this galaxy. Life is too short and precious to be mourning the lives of people that died doing what they knew was best for the people that they loved.” 

“Always know that I will be with you. You’ve always said that no one was ever truly gone and who knows,” even though Ali was feeling so much pain she still pushed through and gave Rey one last smile, “maybe we’ll all be together again one day.”

“I love you, momma and I always will. Until we meet again,” Ali kissed her hand and waved, “may the Force be with you, always.” With that, the holo stopped and was frozen. Ali looked as Rey would always remember her, a soft smile on her lips and such kind eyes. 

“I love you too, my sweet girl,” Rey choked out as tears started to stream her face once again. She didn’t want to believe that this was the end. That she would never see the one thing that brought her so much light again. 

Her little light was no longer little anymore. The little light grew to a blazing fire that was fueled on passion, faith, and love. If she were to die it would be because she had loved too fiercely. Wanting nothing more than to ensure that those that she loved were safe and got the lives that they deserved to have.

Just like her father.

Rey sat alone in the room for several minutes just quietly crying to herself. She was surprised that Milo and Shara hadn’t come looking to see if she was okay. When there weren’t any more tears left to cry, Rey took the data chip out of the reader and placed it into her pocket. She took the holo reader and put it back into the drawer that it belonged in. 

As Rey left the room, she could hear Milo and Shara arguing about gods only knowing what in the cockpit.  _ At least some things would never change,  _ she laughed to herself. 

Rounding the corner BB8 came rolling by. He chirped asking if she was ok because she was gone for such a long time. 

“I’m fine, BB, I promise,” Rey bent down so she was eye level with the orange and white droid, “but can you take this? I want to make sure that it’s kept safe.” She held up the data chip and without hesitation the droid took it. He asked what was on it and Rey simply answered with, 

“A piece of my heart.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ps: Everyone's comments for the last chapter were so incredibly sweet (they are sweet for every chapter). I never thought this fic was of those "binge read at 1 AM" kind of fics and seeing comments like that literally made my day. Love ya'll!!


	15. Endless Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!! I wanted to get this up for the 4th or the 5th but finals week, unfortunately, has taken my soul and will to live. Really hoping that you guys enjoy this chapter and have a great rest of your week!!

It took Alina several minutes before she had enough strength to get to her feet. Her saber was still several meters away from her from when she had thrown it into the chest of one of the Knights of Ren. She would need to get it before her next trial began. 

Slowly but surely, Ali began to shift her feet from under her. Her abdomen was still sore, and probably would be for a very long time. Once Ali was fully standing she steadied herself before taking her first steps. 

Every step she took felt like knives were shooting up through her leg muscles. What would have only been only a few strides with her long legs, now took her forever as she took tiny steps. When she reached her saber, she called it to her hand because it would be impossible for her to bend down to grasp it. As Alina stood there, she tried to center herself, trying to even her heart rate once again but there was no way that was going to happen. She needed to be on high alert. At any moment her next trial would show up, and stars only knew who she would be fighting next. 

Alina’s eyes were alert as she could sense the impending doom that would soon be upon her. Her hair that had been intricately braided was now undone and soaking wet, making her curls frizz. She took another step as she could feel herself starting to lose her balance. 

As she took another step to balance herself, there was that all too familiar feeling that something was about to happen, but she was still in the throne room.

“Long have I waited,” came an all too familiar voice. Ali had heard that voice in her dreams for years. It has been the final voice that she would hear before she was awoken abruptly. “For my great-granddaughter to finally join me.”

The night that Ali learned the truth about father, she also learned the truth about her mother's parentage. That not only was she a Skywalker and a Solo, but also a Palpatine. 

_ Of course, I have to fight this monster,  _ Alina cringed as she slowly started to turn around and face her next trial. 

Darth Sidious sat on the stone throne on the opposite side of the temple. It was no longer a pile of broken rubble. Now, it looked like it had when her parents had come to defeat this monster of a man nineteen years ago. It made her blood boil knowing that this creature in front of her was the reason why she grew up without a father.

“Who says I’ll join you?” Ali started to walk towards the cloaked man. She held her head up high and tried as hard as she could not to limp.

“Because I know you, girl,” the creature sneered, “I know that you want. I know your deepest desires. I know that you want your father and I’m here to help you.”

“How is joining you going to bring back my father?”

“It seems that my dear granddaughter never told you about the power of the Sith.” 

He wasn’t wrong. Her mother rarely talked about the sith or their power. She rarely even talked about it to her fellow padawans. 

“That the dark side has a power that could resurrect the dead.” He laughed.

“Why would we learn about the sith when they are all dead.” Ali stopped a few feet in front of Darth Sidious. “You, too, are nothing more than a memory.” 

“Don’t worry, girl, I know I’m dead.” Ali could see his golden bloodshot eyes. “I’m nothing but another illusion in your trials to bring back your dear father.”

It surprised Ali that this monster knew that he was nothing more than an illusion. Her other trials showed no indication that they knew that they were illusions. It made sense though that Darth Sidious would know that he was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Besides he was probably the mastermind behind all of this. 

“If you know that you're a trial and nothing more than an illusion, then why don’t you just kill me now?” Ali laid her hand on her saber ready for the expected blow. 

“Who said that I wanted to kill you?” His voice went up an octave. It almost sounded like he was mocking her.

“If you know what I’m here for and you don’t plan on trying to kill me,” annoyance was streaming from her voice, “then what do you want with me?”

“I want to offer you something.”

“Offer me what? I’m not joining you and it seems like you already know that, so what exactly do you want with me?”

“You won’t like your final trial, girl. Trust me, I know what you’ll be fighting next and you won’t like it.”

“Do you think that I have wanted to fight any of these trials?” She let out a deep sigh, “I didn’t want to kill them, but I did what I had to do to survive. I did what I had to do to bring my father back.”

“Ah yes, your dear father.” He leaned back in the throne, “You believe you’re doing the honorable thing by potentially sacrificing yourself to bring back your father. Well, what if I told you that I could help you bring him back?”

“You don’t want to help me.” Ali knew better than that, “You just want to use me in some scheme. That’s all you ever want to do with anyone in my family. I don’t know what you want with me, but I’m smarter than you. I won’t be tempted by whatever you want to do with me.”

“So be it, girl,” he laughed, “I’ll leave you to your final trial, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be having my fun with the people that you love on the surface.”

Ali saw red again and lifted her saber from her hip without hesitation. He just wanted to distract her long enough so he would be able to get to her friends.

“Don’t you dare touch them!” She spat at him.

“Who’s to say that I already haven’t done things to them. You’ve been gone for nearly eight hours.” Eight hours? It felt like she had been down here for an hour, or maybe two, maximum. Had she really been gone that long?

“You abandoned them knowing full well what would happen to them when you left them. Why would you care what I do to them?” 

She had had enough of his taunting words. With all of her might, Ali charged towards the specter but before she could reach him, Darth Sidious throughout his hands and shot her with a bolt of electricity.

Ali flew through the air and landed on her back on a pile of sharp rocks. She laid there motionless for a few moment’s feeling the sharp rocks that scraped against her back. When she finally sat up, Darth Sidious was nowhere in sight. 

As Ali got up she could feel the blood dripping down her back and a cool breeze pass over the exposed skin on her back from her shirt being torn. Everything seemed just as it had before Sidious had shown up but there was still something different in the air that told her that her final trial was coming soon and there would not be any lull.

Ali cautiously looked around the throne room looking to see if anything was coming towards her but she found nothing. That was until she could hear another pair of footsteps behind her.

She stopped suddenly once she heard the footsteps and then continued for a few paces before stopping suddenly. There was something about the person behind her that seemed almost familiar. Almost as if she knew them. That was until they spoke and Ali knew exactly who her final trial would be.

“So, you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about?” The mechanical voice of Kylo Ren rang behind her clear as day. Ali could feel tears begin to prick her eyes and her heart broke into a million pieces. 

Slowly she turned around and when Ali saw him for the first time her stomach dropped.

Father and daughter,  _ technically _ , meeting for the first time. 

Kylo Ren stood a few meters in front of her, with his saber already ignited. He took a few more steps towards her once she was turned around and stopped when he was only a meter separating the two of them. Ali had never felt so small as Kylo Ren towered over them. 

She knew he wasn’t really here. Kylo Ren was nothing more than an illusion like the rest of them but he felt so  _ real _ . If Ali wasn’t so terrified maybe she could just lift his helmet off and everything would be okay, but that wasn’t the case. She would have to fight him. 

Ali was going to have to kill this version of her father to bring back the man that her father really was. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Her voice was quiet yet stern.

“Oh, but you do, don’t you?” His voice was cold, “I can see what you want to do. I can feel what you feel. I know you want to kill me.” Kylo raised his saber so it was practically right under her nose. Ali took a step backwards letting out a quiet sob. She slowly removed her saber from its hilt and ignited it. Tears began to stream down her face. 

Kylo was right. She did want to kill him, but it was the only way to bring back her father. 

He took another step and advanced on her with a single blow from his saber. Ali took another step back, deflecting his crackling saber. 

Over and over again red and green sabers clashed together. His crackling red saber hitting against her smooth green one. As they kept fighting the more Ali realized how similar their fighting strategies were. Everything that Ali knew about fighting came from her mother and even though she never told Ali the truth about her father it seemed that Rey had influenced his fighting strategies into her daughter.

Ali could tell that the fight was almost over. They were both exhausted. She could taste victory. With one quick motion, Ali spun around slashing upwards. When she was facing him again she expected her to be dead, but he was still standing with half of his mask taken off and laying on the ground. Ali didn’t notice the broken mask though.

She charged towards him and kicked him in the chest while he was still stunned by the blow. 

Kylo Ren fell hard to the rocky ground. He laid there lifeless. Ali circled him. No, she was the predator attacking her prey. Standing over him preparing to stab him she lifted her saber over her head.

As Ali began to lower her saber into his chest, but then her eyes fell upon his that was exposed from the broken helmet.

Brown eyes meeting the same brown eyes. 

She was suddenly hit with a flood of emotions and memories but they weren’t her own though. 

Ali saw a young boy with dark hair and fair skin run into his father's arms holding a pair of gold dice. She saw that boy slightly older hugging his mother tightly before he left on a ship to take him away for the next chapter of his life. That boy was now grown up. Ben Solo sparred and laughed with his friends. Received a reassuring pat on the shoulder from his uncle. 

But then suddenly something changed and everything became dark. Ben Solo was betrayed by everyone he loved. 

By his friends.

By his family.

By his uncle.

With no one to turn to, he found comfort in the voices that had always been there in his head. He didn’t want to, but he didn’t have a choice. Although, he unknowingly had people that loved him, people that wanted him back in their arms.

Safe and sound.

As he took on a persona everything became dark and stayed dark for years. There was pain and anger and sadness for so long that it was all that he knew. He had forgotten how to feel and most importantly how to love. 

He was practically made out of stone when he met her. 

His other half. 

Her hazel eyes would haunt his dreams for nearly a year.

Ben wanted to deny his feelings for her. He really tried, but there was something about her that made his mind spin and his stomach turn but in the best way possible. 

When he thought he lost her for good he knew what he had to do. Even if that meant sacrificing his own life but it was worth it.

Dying was worth it if she got to live.

Alina’s cheeks were covered with tears when her mind was finally set free. She extinguished her saber as she collapsed to her knees falling on top of her opponent. 

Although when she landed on her knees, her hands scraped against the rough ground. 

Kylo Ren was gone and once again she was alone in the throne room. 

A sob ripped through her body that was so loud it was sure to wake the dead. Hot tears streamed down her face as she cried. Once again she was crying for a man that she barely knew. 

She had done it. 

She had conquered her trials, but at what cost? 

Her father was nowhere in sight.

“What else do I have to do?” she screamed into the open air. 

“I’ve finished my trials, haven’t I?” Ali got up to her feet faster than she thought she was able to. 

“I have had to fight Sith Lords, men in armor, and my kriffing father!” She threw her hands in the air.

Looking up to the stars above she screamed, “What else do you want me to do?!?” Taking in a deep breath that came out as a blood-curdling sob, she cried out again, “What do I have to do?”

Ali said the phrase over and over again. It had started as a demand, but now it sounded more like a plea for help. She was tired and defeated and all she wanted to do was cry into her mother's chest. To be held in Milo's strong embrace. To rest her head on Shara’s shoulder. 

To finally be able to meet her father.

But the force was cruel and did not care about her anymore. She collapsed to her knees in exhaustion and cried into her hands. 

Ali had lost and all of the hope and confidence that she once had was gone. 

“Please, let me bring him back.” She sobbed quietly, “Please.”

Her soft plea echoed around the throne room. Almost sounding like an eerie prayer and then there was silence. 

Then something changed. The air was no longer dense with humidity. It became easier to breathe. 

In the distance, she could hear flapping. Ali looked up and couldn’t believe what she saw in front of her. 

A single blue butterfly was flying towards her and then softly landed on her hands. It looked like the same butterfly that she saw when she was a little.

Even though Ali was defeated and thought that all hope was gone a small smile started to form on her face. The butterfly crawled around on her palms for a few seconds and then took flight. It circled around her head and began to fly in front of her.

_ Does it want me to follow it? _ Ali wondered, but once again circled her. She knew then that it wanted her to follow. So that’s exactly what she did.

Slowly, Ali lifted herself from the ground. Her body was in so much pain, but she knew that she had to follow the beautiful creature. She picked her saber up then hobbled over to her bag that was resting on the ground not far away. The butterfly fluttered away from her and began to move further into the temple. As she followed the creature, her heartbeat began to quicken in excitement. 

Was a butterfly really going to guide her to her father?

Then the butterfly stopped flying and began to flutter in the same spot. They had hit a dead end and once again Alina thought all hope was lost but then the creature did the impossible. It passed through the stone wall in front of them.

Ali’s mouth hung open in shock. 

_ Had that butterfly just passed through stone?  _ She asked herself looking at the stone in shock.

Ali took a step forward and went to lay her hand on the stone, but when she did it went through it like it was air.

“Maker!” She yelled and brought her hand close to her chest.

This was it. 

This was her way into the world between worlds and she was finally going to meet her father.

Without another thought, she took a deep breath and a final step before she passed through the stone.

* * *

In a world between worlds a man laid in peace wearing nothing, but a tattered sweater, ripped black pants, and a pair of worn black boots. He was frozen in time. Looking the same as he had when he took his last breath.

He and everyone that knew him thought when he closed his eyes for the final time he was dead, but someone was coming for him. 

A young girl that he needed more than she needed him. 

It was time for the man to be awoken and with that brown eyes snapped open and air filled his lungs.

_ Ben Solo was alive once again.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boy has returned and I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter!!!
> 
> Lots of love!  
> Em <3


	16. Show Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, ladies and gents, we've made it! I've had this chapter mostly written for a few weeks now and im so excited for you guys to finally read it! I appreciate all of you that have taken the time to read this story that I have created. As always, I hope everyone is doing well and is staying healthy.  
> Lots of Love!  
> Em <3

Crossing the threshold of the portal Alina was met with a sea of black, dotted with a million stars and constellations. Ali had seen this place before and she couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sight. For years she had been having dreams about this place, the world between worlds, and had no idea. The force had been telling her for years to come here. 

That this is where she would finally be reunited with her father.

As Ali began her trek through the vast darkness, she grimiest once again at the pain that was shooting through her legs. The pain was worth it though. At least that’s what she hoped. 

She couldn’t see anything for miles and miles. Just the void of space. There was no sight of anyone or anything. Stars only knew how long it was going to take her to find him. 

What would she even say to him once she found him?

_ Oh hi! I know that you think you’ve only been gone for a few minutes, but actually, it’s been 19 years. Oh, and guess what? You’re my dad!  _ Ali sarcastically mused to herself. How exactly would she tell him that she was his daughter? How would he even react to having a daughter, let alone a daughter that is 18 years old? 

Maybe he would know just by seeing her and she wouldn’t have to say anything. He would just know that she was his and they could get the hell out of here and get back to her life. 

Ali would finally get to reunite her mother with the love of her life. 

She would finally be able to have the family that she always dreamed that she would have one day.

Ali trusted her instincts and the force as she made her way down the path of the black abyss. As she walked, voices from the past whispered around her and encouraged her to keep going. Even though every cell in her body was screaming in agony for her to stop moving, to take a moment and rest, she couldn’t rest. She had a mission to finish, and she wasn’t going to let a few cuts and bruises stop her. Even if she could feel blood dripping down the side of her face and an odd metallic taste in her mouth.

_ These are your first steps. _

_ Let the past die kill it if you have to _

_ Do or do not there is no try _

_ This is a new day, a new beginning  _

_ Luminous beings, we are _

_ I love you  _

_ I know  _

_ You’re not alone  _

_ Neither are you _

The last two voices were her parents. She had heard that exchange of words when she had touched her father's saber. A single tear rolled down her cheek just thinking about how much had changed since she had been gifted the saber. Ali prayed that everything had changed for the better. 

She thought all hope was lost, but then Ali heard a voice call after her. It wasn’t one of the voices from the great beyond. No, it sounded too close, too clear to only be a whisper. This voice was here, in the present. It was here with her in the world between worlds.

“Rey!?” 

Her eyes went wide and froze in the spot that she stood in. Ali knew that voice. She had heard it hundreds of times. 

It was Ben's voice, the voice of her father, but it couldn’t be him.

It couldn't be. Could it?

That was impossible. There was no way that  _ he _ was in here with her already. She started to hear footsteps coming towards her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. There was no way it was him.

“Rey?” The soft baritone voice called after her again. 

Could it really be him?

She turned on her heels slowly as though if she had turned fast he would have disappeared and once again be lost. Ali expected not to see anyone when she was finally turned, but when she did her breath hitched in shock from the sight in front of her. 

No more than twenty feet away stood Ben Solo, appearing just as he did the day he had died.

  
  


* * *

Ben blinked his eyes a few times staring up at the starry sky. He sat up slowly as he still could feel all of his injuries.

“Hello,” he called out, “Is anyone there?” slowly he moved his feet from under him and stood up. 

“Is anyone here?” There was no answer though.

“What is this place?” Ben asked out loud, hoping that someone or something would answer him. 

He was met with only silence though. There were a few places that he could think of where he was currently at.

The first being the afterlife, but this didn’t feel like death. He could still feel every injury from his fall. No, this wasn’t the afterlife. It was eerily peaceful though. Maybe this was some sort of purgatory. Almost like an in-between before he went to the afterlife.

Or maybe this was the world between worlds? 

It was only a theory. Nobody had ever talked about going there, what it was like, or what it was like after they had been there. A part of him wished that he was dead. 

That’s what he deserved anyway. He deserved to be dead. He had spent the better part of six years doing the most horrible things imaginable to the galaxy. He was the reason for countless innocent lives dying, tortured thousands of people, and the reason for the death of his father.

_ At least my death won’t be in vain.  _ Ben mused to himself thinking about what happened only moments before he passed. He could still feel Rey’s soft lips on his and the surge of pure joy that pulsed through his body when he saw her hazel eyes shine with life once again. 

Hopefully, she would have a good life or at least had a life that would be worth living. Maybe she had married someone; the stormtrooper or the pilot were probably the two most likely options, or maybe she met someone new. He also hoped she lived somewhere that was full of vegetation and was full of new life. She didn’t deserve to live on a desert planet anymore. 

Most importantly, Ben hoped that Rey had a family. He imagined her having children. Finally being able to have the family she always dreamed about having. She probably taught her children all about the force, how to use a lightsaber, and most importantly how to love everything and everyone that they came in contact with. 

That’s what she deserved. Ben wished that he could have given her that. He wished that he could have loved her as fiercely as she deserved to be but that was impossible now. It was all just a fantasy. 

A dream that could never come into fruition. 

He continued walking through the black void and couldn’t help, but think about Rey and the family he would have built with her. The life that the two of them would have shared. The memories they would have made together. He loved her so much that it made him nauseous just thinking about it.

Too bad the woman he loved never got to hear him say it to her. 

Voices started to fill his ears now as he walked further and further into the desolate space.

_ You were the chosen one _

_ Hope is like the sun, if you only believe in it when you can see it you’ll never make it through the night _

_ The fear of loss is the path to the dark side _

_ The greatest teacher, failure is _

_ You were meant to destroy the Sith, not join them _

_ May the force be with you  _

_ You’re not alone _

_ Neither are you _

Rey’s voice rang through his ears. What he would give to be reunited with her. To hear her voice. To hold her in his arms. To give her anything that she wanted. To love and cherish her the way that she deserved.

He was taken out of his thoughts though when he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye. He froze in his spot. He turned quickly to see what looked like a girl was also in the same place as him. Could it? No, it couldn’t be. Ben turned quickly and followed where the girl had gone. 

“Rey?” He spoke out loud as he watched her continue down the path. 

“Rey?!” He called out to the girl again. It had to be her. Who else could it be that would be down here with him? It wasn’t long before he caught up with who he believed to be Rey. He called after her again. She stopped abruptly, freezing where she stood. 

“Rey?” His voice was softer this time almost in amazement.

The girl had her back to him. She spun around slowly causing the dark curls that hung halfway down her back to bounce lightly. Once she was fully turned around he was able to see if it truly was his beloved Jedi. 

She looked vaguely like Rey, but it wasn’t her. This girl that was in front of him now had a slightly rounded face and a different eye color than Rey’s, but they looked as though he had seen them before. Her hair was much darker with loose curls that hung over her shoulders. She was even dressed similarly to Rey though, in a blue version of what she wore when she came to him on the Supremacy. 

The girl's eyes seemed to light up when they met his own. She looked familiar like he had maybe met her in a dream or a past life, but it wasn’t his Rey.

“Who are you?” Ben cocked an eyebrow as the girl took a few steps towards him. 

* * *

Ali looked up at him with wide eyes and an even wider smile. She would recognize him even though he was at a slight distance. The little girl in her wanted to sprint towards him and wrap her arms around her father’s waist, but she knew better than that. She was already going to freak him out with what she was about to inform him, and he didn’t need some random girl clinging onto him. 

“Ben,” Ali barely even whispered it. She couldn’t believe that he was standing in front of her in the flesh. 

She took a few steps towards him starting to close the gap between them. As she got closer to him, he asked: “Who are you?”

Ali stopped in her tracks and looked up at him once again. 

_ Oh so, we're gonna do this right now?  _ She asked herself. She hadn’t even thought about how she was going to tell him. The best way to tell him would probably be just to tell him and not dance around it. 

“My name is Alina,” she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was happening, it was really happening. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. Taking in another shaky breath, she opened her eyes, “and I’m your daughter.”

Ali witnessed every emotion pass through Ben Solo’s soft brown eyes, her eyes, as they turned to be completely confused then into complete disbelief. 

“That’s impossible.” Ben practically laughed. He looked at Ali in disbelief. “I’m dead! This is a vision. You aren’t real.” Anger started to bubble up in his voice. He started to turn around to leave this cruel manifestation of the force. “You aren’t here.”

“No, it’s not a lie.” She yelled after him and raced towards him taking hold of his wrist. “I'm alive. I'm really here. I’ve come here to bring back. To bring you back home.”

Ben pulled his arm out of her grip, “Listen, kid, I’m right where I should be,” he took in a deep breath, “dead. I don’t deserve to live. You’re not here. I don’t have a daughter.” He turned back around and started to walk away.

Ali watched with her mouth open slightly in shock. She could feel anger building up inside of her. Did he really think he was dead? Was he really that dumb? Ali had to stop him from leaving, or at least try.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me, Solo!” She yelled at him, “I have fought monster after monster to come here and take you back to the woman that you love. So you’re coming with me whether you like it or not!”

Ben stood there frozen for a few seconds. He was suddenly a little boy again getting yelled at by his mother or listening to her yell at his father. Spinning around on his heels, he took ten large steps, stopping when he was only a few paces away.

“Who are you?!” His voice was full of so much anger and rage that it sent shivers down Alina’s spine.

She stood her ground and yelled back, “My name is Alina Leia Solo.” 

Reaching his hand out he was able to call the girl’s lightsaber that he noticed on her hip. It flew into his hand, and without blinking his eyes he ignited it.

Ali’s eyes went wide as she saw her lightsaber being ignited by her father. She didn’t even notice that he had taken it.  _ I didn’t even know that you could do that,  _ Ali thought. 

Ben pointed the saber at her. “Go away.” Tears were starting to well in his eyes as he spoke. 

When Ben had envisioned his future with Rey, he saw them having a daughter. A daughter with her mother's looks and personality, but with his eyes and dark curls. That was impossible though. Ben had died. He barely even had the chance to kiss Rey. There was no way that he could have fathered a child.

“It’s the truth, Ben.” As nervous as Ali was she still kept her cool and kept her voice calm. She slowly started to slide her hand into her bag to retrieve Ben’s lightsaber.  _ Maybe seeing his lightsaber would make him believe her.  _ She mulled over in her head. “I’m your daughter. Rey is my mother. Both of your blood flows through my veins.”

That was the last straw for Ben. With one quick movement, he went to slash at the girl. Acting fast, Ali took a running step and slid on her knees passing by him. Ben turned around quickly and went to go strike her again, but his blow was stopped by the ignition of a red saber that he imagined to be long gone.

The crackling red saber took both father and daughter by surprise. Ali had never ignited it before and it truly surprised her that the lightsaber still worked. Ben, on the other hand, was shocked to even see the lightsaber. He had thrown it into the ocean when he was on the second Death Star. How did she get his saber?

Ben took a step and pointed his saber at the girl. Ali did the same, mimicking her father's movements. 

“Where did you get that?” He snarled at her.

“It was found off the shore of Kef Bir.” Ali had just as much aggression in her voice, “It was given to me a few days ago as a belated birthday present.”

“It should have stayed at the bottom of the ocean.” Ben started to circle Ali and she followed. They looked as though they were two wild animals fighting over a piece of meat. 

“You’re right, it should be,” Ali admitted, “but if I didn’t get it when I did, then I wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t finally be meeting you, and I wouldn’t be breaking you out of this black abyss.”

“There’s no way you can be my daughter. I don’t believe you.”

“Your name is Ben Solo. Your parents were Leia Organa and Han Solo. They loved you so much that they sacrificed themselves to ensure that you came back to the light.” Ali wasn’t entirely sure where she was going with this, but she hoped that maybe if she told him everything that she knew about him he would believe her. So she kept on going. “Your uncle, Luke Skywalker, was a Jedi and when the civil war was over he started his own Jedi temple. When you were a little boy your parents had him take you to train with him, so you too could become a Jedi.”

“As a child, you heard voices in your head that made you believe that everyone you loved feared you, and it took you down a dark path. Then when everyone thought that you had gone completely dark there was still light that shined through your heart. There was a darker force though.” Ali looked at the infamous lightsaber in her hand. “Palpatine worked tirelessly to make sure that you turned. Until one day, you lost all hope and love for everyone who truly loved you. Joining the First Order and taking along the Knights of Ren with you. You suffered for six years just going through the motions. Just trying to get by and survive. Until one day when you met her.”

Ali’s voice softened, and she stopped pacing around him. She looked up to see that Ben had done the same. He lowered his saber and she did too. 

“You met Rey, my mom, and everything changed for you.” She could feel the tears starting to well in her eyes and surprisingly she was able to keep them from streaming down her face. “For the first time in years, you met someone that was like you. She was powerful and strong in the force without even having a moment of training. She fascinated and scared you all at the same time.”

“You didn’t know it when you first met, but you had a connection to her that would change you for the better.” She noticed that Ben's features had started to soften, not as rigid as he had been, “The two of you are a Dyad in the force. It’s been unseen for generations. Two bodies connected by one soul. During the battle of Exegol, Rey died while taking down Darth Sidious. When you found her lying there dead on the cold stone floor of the temple you knew what you had to do.” Ali could see tears welling in his eyes remembering everything that happened that fateful day, “You went to her and did as she had done not long before on the wreckage of the Death Star.”

“You, Ben Solo healed her and put in every ounce of energy that you had to bring the love of your life back. For a split second everything in both of your lives was just as it was meant to be. The two of you envisioned a life together, raising a family together, but in an instance, those dreams were ripped and you were gone.” As hard as Ali tried to keep her tears at bay a few started to roll down her cheek. 

“Nine months to the day later, I was born and my mom was left raising a daughter by herself. She had her friends to help her through it, but I don’t think a day went by where she didn’t miss you, or think about you. I could only imagine how much it pained her to look at me every single day for nineteen years and have to see the man that she loved so much in her little girl. To know that if I didn't exist then she would have you to love.” A loud sob ripped through her body as she made the realization. She quickly pulled herself back together, knowing that she wasn’t done yet, “I asked her not long ago why she never found someone else, and she told me that there wasn’t another man in the galaxy that she would love as much as she loved you.”

He believed her. This girl in front of him was his daughter and there was no doubt about it. Ben wasn’t sure how it had happened, but here she was. 

He could see so much of himself in her. The way she presented herself and spoke was all him. She had spent her whole life not knowing anything about her father, yet she acted almost exactly like him. He did the math and concluded that she couldn’t be more than 18. 

She was already an adult who hardly even needed a father anymore. Ben could feel the weight of Ali’s words weighing him down. He slowly started to crumble to his knees, putting his hands to his face covering his eyes.

Ali took a few steps and kneeled in front of him. She could only imagine what he was feeling right now. “You loved her so much that you sacrificed yourself for her and that sacrifice gave her me.” Ben took his hands away from his face, exposing his teary eyes. It was then when he was finally able to see his daughter up close.

Alina looked so much like Rey that it made his heart hurt. Ben could see pieces of him in her eyes and hair. He could even see parts of his mother in her too. Ben wondered if she knew about her grandparents. He started to put his head down again remembering his parents when he noticed something gold hanging around Alina’s neck. Taking a closer look at the necklace and when he realized what it was his father’s infamous gold dice. His eyes came up again to meet Ali’s and she gave him a reassuring smile. She had his smile too.

“I know this is a lot,” Ali admitted as she wiped away tears, “I, at least, had a few days to process everything, and I’m giving you only a few minutes to take it all in, but we have to get going before we get stuck in this black abyss.” She got up and offered her hand to him. “I’m gonna need you to trust me. Can you do that?” 

As Ben looked at Alina’s hand he couldn’t help but remember all of the times he had offered his own to her mother. Now his daughter was offering her hand to him.  _ Oh, how the tables have turned,  _ he thought to himself. He placed his hand into Ali’s and she helped him up to his feet. 

Ali looked up at Ben with a large toothy smile. She couldn’t believe that this was really happening. She had found her father and was finally going to reunite him with her mom. Finally, her mom would be reunited with the love of her life.

Finally, she was going to have a family.

They were both going to be a family.

“Let’s go home.” 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Rey, Shara, and Milo sat around the Djakar table once again. The kids were busy playing a rousing game of chess that Shara was winning, and Rey sat there quietly eating a nutrition bar that Shara had to force her to eat. She was glad that her niece did because, in the stress of everything she had happened, she completely forgot to eat. 

Another hour and a half had passed by, but she was glad that Milo and Shara were here to keep her company. They tried to keep her mind off of everything by making her laugh and for a little bit, she had forgotten what she was worried about.

When it was quiet though that’s when she remembered why exactly she was here. Alina was her reason for living and she didn’t know what she would do without her if she were to die. 

Shara and Milo tried to keep the Ali discussion down to a minimum. They wanted her back just as much as Rey did, but they had to put their worries on the back burner. 

“Hah, won again!” Shara yelled in excitement.

“That’s only because you cheated.” Milo rolled his eyes.

“No, I didn’t,” she pointed a finger at him, “I’m just smarter than you, that’s why I won.”

“Yeah okay, sure.” Milo nodded his head sarcastically, “Best two out of three?”

“Oh, you’re on!” Shara laughed as she restarted the board.

Rey rolled her eyes as she got up from the table to refill her glass of water, it was so shocking how much both of them were like their fathers. 

She had just gotten up when something strange pulsed through her body and for the first time in nearly two decades Rey felt whole again. 

Her breath hitched and she dropped her glass having it smash on the floor. Tears began to prick at her eyes.

For years she had felt empty, like a piece of her had died and a piece of it did when she lost Ben. It was filled slightly when Alina was born, but there was always a dull feeling in her chest that something, no someone was missing.

But now? 

Now it was full again.

Rey felt full again and that only meant one thing.

Ali had done the impossible, she had brought back Ben Solo.

Milo and Shara immediately stopped what they were doing and went to Rey’s side.

“Stars Rey, are you okay?” Milo asked as he reached her.

Shara noticed the tears streaming down her Aunt’s face, “What’s wrong? Is it Lina? Is she okay?”

Rey nodded her head and began to laugh softly. She couldn’t believe that Ali had done it. That she brought back Ben. She finally got to meet her father. 

“She did it.” Rey grabbed Shara’s hand.

“Did what?” Milo asked with a confused expression on his face. 

“Ali brought him back.” She grabbed Milo's hand with her other hand, “She brought back Ben.”

Both kids left out a sigh of relief. Ali had brought back her dad and was coming back home.

“How do you know?” Milo looked at Rey with wide eyes.

“I can feel it.” She gave him a teary smile, “There has always been something missing, but now,” Rey signed, “I don’t feel empty anymore.”

“Then we better go meet them.” Shara gave her aunt a reassuring smile.

With that Milo quickly cleaned up the broken glass, Shara powered down the ship, as Rey sat back down. 

BB-8 came scurrying towards her asking what all of the commotion was about. 

“Someone’s back that I thought I would never see again and the three of us have to go bring him back.” She smiled at the droid, “Can you watch the ship while we’re gone?”

The droid spun around in excitement. He promised that he would take good care of the ship while they were off and scurried away to tell Shara.

Rey too was buzzing with excitement.

After nineteen years, Rey was going to be reunited with Ben again. She was finally going to tell her that she loved him. She finally was going to kiss him again. 

She was finally going to tell him about his daughter. 

“Ready to go?” Shara asked and offered her hand. 

“Oh, you have no idea.” Rey smiled up at her niece and took it without another thought. 

They met Milo by the loading rap as he started to lower it.

_ This is it _ , Rey thought. The next time she would board the Falcon they would finally be a family. Like they were always meant to be. 

“Nervous?” Milo asked. Rey laughed, of course, she was nervous but she would never tell him that.

“Of course not,” she laughed, clearly nervous as she started to head down the ramp, “I’ve waited nineteen years for this moment, and I don’t plan on waiting any longer.” 

Milo and Shara followed after her, and the three of them together headed towards the black cathedral.

  
  



	17. The Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! This chapter is literally insane but I really hope that you guys enjoy it!! I hope everyone has had a really great week and is staying healthy!

It wasn’t long before they made it to the portal that would take them back to the throne room on Exegol. Neither one of them talked on the long walk to the portal. They both were just taking in everything that had happened.

“So you just walked through this and got here?” Ben broke the silence as they approached the portal.

“Umm yeah,” Ali was shocked by the sudden sound of his voice, “I just walked through the stone wall, and came here. How did you get here?”

“No clue,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I woke up in front of a portal. I have no clue how I ended up here, but whoever brought me here I’m grateful….. I’m grateful for you too.” 

Ali’s eyes went wide. She stopped walking and turned on her heels to look at him. “Oh umm, you’re welcome.” Ali smiled, “Mom said that there was a chance that I could bring you back, and well, I just had to try.” 

They passed through the portal without any issues. As they walked through the temple, Ali could feel the discomfort coming from her father. It became even more apparent as they got closer to the destroyed throne. He stopped suddenly looking at the throne and the back to _the spot_. The spot where he brought Rey back to life, where they shared her first kiss, and where he lost his life. 

“Hey, you okay?” Ali’s voice was calm. She knew that he was definitely not.

“He took everything away from me.” Ben looked to the throne, “He took away a life that I could have shared with the woman I loved. He took away that I could have shared with my daughter. He’s the reason why I am the way that I am.” His voice was cold and angry. It sent a shiver down Ali’s spine.

“Hey, hey,” Ali ran over to him and placed a hand on his arm. “It sucks. It really sucks. I had to think for the past eighteen years that my father was just some dead guy, or just didn’t give a damn about me,” she tried to find the right words to say to him, “but it happened and there is no way that we can go back in time and have a do-over. What we can do though is start fresh. It might not be what either of us expected, or what we wanted our lives to be but these are the cards we’ve been dealt with. All we can do is make the most of it. Okay?” 

Ben looked down at his daughter in awe. She was far wiser than he ever was. He simply nodded his head and that was good enough for Ali.

“Okay, let’s get going we don’t have much longer.” Ali released Ben's arm. Before they left the large room, Ben looked back one last time. He was thankful that he would never have to come back to this horrible place ever again. 

It wasn’t long before the father-daughter duo found their way through the rest of the cathedral and made it back to the stone that would get them to the surface of the planet. 

As the large stone started to lift both of them to the surface of the planet it felt like Ali could finally start to calm down. She had done what only a handful of people had done before. Ali had defeated Snoke and his guards, the Knights of Ren, Darth Sidious, Kylo Ren and lived to tell the tale. She was able to go to the world between worlds and bring her father back. All Ali ever wanted was to have her father. Now she finally had him. Now, Ben Solo stood no more than four feet away from her and Ali’s mind went blank on what to say to him. 

Was she supposed to make small talk with him? What were they even supposed to talk about? What was she supposed to say to the father that she had just met? Ali wanted to talk to him, sure. She had eighteen years' worth of stories to tell him, but it didn’t seem like the time or place to tell him childish stories. 

Ben's mind was also racing. He had an eighteen-year-old daughter. _Eighteen_ , he kept saying the number over and over again in his head. How could he have an eighteen-year-old daughter when he was only 30. Ben knew that time worked differently where he was, but it still had his mind spinning. He also couldn’t stop thinking about Rey. How did she do it? How did she raise their daughter by herself? He hoped that her friends had stayed with her. That she had someone to help her. Did her friends even know that he was the father? He was sure if they knew the truth then they wouldn’t have helped. 

Ben watched as Alina played with the necklace that was around her neck. The last time he saw the dice was after Crait when they had disappeared in his hands. Ben thought that he would never see them again and at the time he didn’t care if he ever did, but now as he watched his daughter play with them in her hands he thought of all of the times he played with them as a child. When Ben was little, he carried them around everywhere and swore up and down that he would have been a pilot just like his father. Now, his daughter wore them around her neck, but he doubted that it was because she swore that one day she would be like her father. Alina had mentioned that she only had just learned about him. So Rey never told his daughter about him? He didn’t blame Rey for not telling Alina about him. She was probably better off not knowing about him. Why was Alina here though? Why wasn’t Rey the one to bring him out of the world between worlds? 

“Where is she?” Ben spoke his thoughts out loud breaking the silence. His eyes went wide as he realized that he had said his thoughts out loud. Maybe she didn’t hear him, but Ali had heard him.

Ali turned around on her heels. She looked at him with a confused look for a few seconds until she realized who he was asking about.

“My mom, Rey, she's home.” Ali reassured, “She’s probably freaking out right now wondering where the hell I am. She doesn’t know that I came here and did this. She has no idea that I brought you back.”

“She’s okay, though?” Ben asked.

She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded her head, “Yeah she’s okay, and I know for a fact that once she knows that you’re back, she’ll be even better.”

“Good.” Ben couldn’t help but wonder what Rey was like now. Nineteen years and raising a daughter on her own could have changed her. He knew that she was older now, much older than him by now, but he wondered if Rey was still the ray of light that he remembered her to be. 

All of a sudden the stone stopped moving. They had finally made it to the surface. Ali turned around, looking out to the horizon to see if she could find the Falcon. Even though the thick haze of Exegol Ali could still see faintly in the distance the lights of the ship. She motioned for Ben to follow her and he did. 

As they got closer to the opening of the large cathedral, Ali could hear the rain falling out in the open. She loved the rain. The way that it hit the window and the way that it smelled always made her feel cozy and safe. Like being at home and that was exactly where she was going. Home.

Her steps started to quicken with excitement. Ali was going home and she did it. She brought back her father and her mom would finally be about to have a life with the man that she loved. Ali had survived it all and was going to be able to see her best friends again and be with the man that she loved. Everything was finally coming together. The perfect life that she always envisioned was coming true.

As Ali started to walk from under the large structure that covered them from the elements she let the rain wash over her. It was the kind of rain that fell in large droplets on a summer night when the air would feel thick with humidity. Even though Ali’s body was covered in cuts and scrapes the rain felt so good. So good that she started to laugh. 

When Ben heard his daughters laugh for the first time, he couldn’t help but smile. It was probably one of the greatest sounds that he had ever heard and he too started to laugh. Ali spun around with wide eyes hearing her father's laugh. She didn’t even know that he could laugh. For the first time in a long time, Ali felt so happy. Her heart felt so full that she thought she would never get down from this high. That was until the adrenaline in her system started to fade away and the severity of Ali’s injuries became aware to her. 

She could feel her heart start to slow down first as if her blood hardened in her veins. The gash on her leg and temple were throbbing and became more apparent. The three broken ribs that were sticking into her organs from her fall made Ali realize the metallic taste in her mouth was coming from internal bleeding that she had. 

She was dying. 

Just seconds before she thought she had done it. That she had done the impossible and survived, but she didn’t survive. She wouldn’t live more than a few more seconds. 

Ben's smile fell from his face the moment he noticed Alina’s breathing started to become labored. He had seen more people die then he cared to count. He knew the signs and the look on her face now was one that he had seen countless times. Alina’s skin became even paler than it already was, and her dark eye looked up at him with so much fear. Ben took a step forward before she fell. Ali reaches out for him by taking a step, but her legs gave out from under her. He moved quickly and was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Ben cradled Alina in his arms as he sat on his legs. 

“Kid stay with me.” His voice was full of concern as Ali’s breathing became even more labored. She was slipping away right in front of him.

“Kid please stay with me.” Ben had just met her. He had a family and a daughter that he barely knew. She had sacrificed everything for him to be alive and he had just met her. Alina couldn’t die. 

Ali had waited her whole life to meet her father. It was something that She thought was impossible, but here she was. Dying in her father's arms. Ali slowly brought her hand up to touch his face. Ben dipped his head down so she wouldn’t have to reach as far. When she cupped his cheek, Ben could feel the tears stinging his eyes. 

There was so much that Ali wanted to tell him, so much that she wanted to say. The only word that she was able to say was on though was one that Ali thought she would never have the chance to say. Especially with her last breath.

“Dad,” It came out barely as a whisper. Ali hardly even heard herself say it but Ben did and it broke his heart. 

“Alina, please stay with me.” he cupped her cheek and watched as his daughter faded away. Her hand slowly fell from his cheek and landed into her lap. Tears started to stream down his face. He carefully wiped away the tears and raindrops that were down her cheeks and closed her eyes. Once again Ben was left alone holding a dead woman that he loved. 

Not far off in the distance, he heard yelling. It almost sounded like someone was crying out in pain. As if they knew that Alina was dead. Whoever was out there, he sensed their pain and worry. There was someone out there looking for them. Well looking for Alina. 

Ben knew what he had to do. He didn’t care who was out there looking for her. They were there for her because they cared about his daughter. Ben carefully got up to his feet, making sure not to drop her and headed towards whoever was yelling. Hopefully, they would be able to help bring her back or maybe be able to get them to the one person he knew could help. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Alina's eyes snapped open to see a brilliant white light. She took a gasp of air and sat up with a start. As she became more aware of her surroundings she found herself in a meadow full of wildflowers, and it was then that she realized that she wasn’t alone. She got up slowly looking around at the individuals that surrounded her. 

“Where am I?” She asked anyone that would answer her, “Am I…. am I dead?” 

“Yes, you are.” An old woman answered.

Ali already knew the answer. Her last continuous thought was in her father’s arms. She had finally found her father. Finally had the chance to get to know him, but her injuries were too severe to be able to survive.

Alina was dead, and there was no way she would be able to come back. 

“You won’t be for long though.” Came from the voice of a young man. 

“Can we tell her that she’s coming back to life?” An older man's voice came from her side.

“Well, that’s what we’re here to do, aren’t we?” A man with a noble accent remarked to her side.

“Yeah, I think that’s what we’re here to do so it’s ok to tell her.” Another older man spoke.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your bickering,” Ali spun on her heels to look at who was speaking, “but can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

All four men looked at the girl with sheepish looks on their faces that they got yelled at by a young girl. 

“Are those my dice?” The voice of the second older man asked. Ali looked up at the man and then back down to the dice around her neck. Slowly the gears in her head started to turn as realization struck.

“You’re Han Solo.” Ali’s voice came out shrill with excitement. She let out a deep sigh suddenly realizing that she was surrounded by ghosts of her past. Well, the people that were poignant to her existence. “And you’re my grandfather.”

Han smiles down at her granddaughter, “Hey, kid.”

“And to answer your question, Alina we’re here to keep you company before it’s time for you to go back.” The older woman spoke. Ali knew instantly that it was Leia. She had seen hundreds of Holos about her. There was a point when she looked up to the woman and didn’t even know how much she actually meant to her.

“So I’ll live? I’ll be able to come back to life?” Ali walked towards her grandmother and Leia took her granddaughter's hands into hers. “I’ll finally be able to get to know him?”

Leia already knew who _him_ was. She smiled and squeezed Alina’s hands. 

“Yes, you will be able to do what very few have been able to do.” Leia reassured, “Although, coming back from the dead seems to be a common theme in this new generation.”

“I’ll try and make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” Ali laughed nervously, “I just have one question. Why didn’t you guys come to me earlier when I was younger?”

“We were always with you, Alina.” this came from a woman with a soft voice. Ali also knew exactly who she was and smiled warmly to her great grandmother Padme Amadala. “Just because you couldn’t see us does not mean that we were not there watching over you. The good and the bad.” Ali blushes thinking of all of the reckless things she and her friends had done the past through years.

“Don’t worry kid, we approve the illegal racing, just not a lot of the other stuff you kids get into.” Ali turned her head to look at who was speaking.

“Oh please, Anakin you’ve gotten into bigger trouble when you were her age, so you have no room to judge her.” Said the man with the accent.

Ali slowly realized who the pair of men were. “Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi?” She asked.

“In the flesh,” Anakin smiled, “well technically, not.” He remarked as he looked at his translucent hand.

“And I guess the last introduction is me.” Said the other older man, “I’m..”

“Luke Skywalker, I know.” Ali acknowledged her great uncle. For the first time, Alina was surrounded by family, blood family, for the first time. It felt almost soothing to be around them. She loved the unconventional family that she had but this was different. They were strangers but they were still family. 

“But how am I coming back?” Ali asked, “The only way is by transferring force energy. If either of them does it then they will just die and it will be a cycle of bringing one of us out of the world between worlds.” 

“Not if they both work together to bring you back,” Leia reassured.

“But my mom isn’t on Exegol, she's still on Chandrila.” Ali looked confused.

“Did you not expect your mother wouldn’t come chasing after you?” Padme asked, “Especially when this involves her daughter and the man that she loved?” 

“I’m gonna kill her.” The young girl rolled her eyes. As upset as she was that her mom came after her, she was glad that she was there for Ben. If he had shown up to the Falcon with just her body she knew for a fact that Milo would have blasted him right between the eyes. Shara, on the other hand, would have been a complete mess of just tears and snot. They were both disasters, but they were her disaster and couldn’t wait to wrap both of them in a big hug. 

“I can’t believe I get to go back.” Tears began to well in Ali’s eyes. Then a sudden realization hit her. “What if he doesn’t like me though? What if he thinks that I’m a failure? Or that I’m a horrible daughter?”

“Alina, sweetheart, you are his flesh and blood. You sacrificed yourself to ensure that he would come back. My son loved you from the moment his big dumb Solo/Skywalker brain decided to believe you.”

“Hey!” Han, Luke, and Anakin yelled in unison, while the rest of them burst into laughter for a few moments. 

“Did he really?” Ali asked once the laughter died down.

“Of course he did.” Her grandmother said with certainty in her voice, “He died thinking that he left your mother all alone, but learning that he hadn’t brought him so much joy. Knowing that there was a piece of him left in this galaxy to be there for her.”

“I can’t wait to get to know him.” And Ali meant it. She couldn’t wait to get to know her father, to learn from him, and to see what pieces of her she got from him.

“And he can’t wait to get to know you too,” Leia smiled, “but now it’s time for you to go back to them. Always know that we will be with you always no matter what.” She lightly kissed her granddaughter's forehead, “may the Force be with you.” 

With that Alina saw a bright light again and slowly she could feel both the presence of her mother and her father.

* * *

“Ben!” Rey cries out over and over again. Something was wrong and she could feel it.

“Alina!” She called out again as Milo and Shara did the same.

“Something isn’t right.” Shara turned to Rey, “I know this sounds crazy but…” 

“No,” Rey stopped her before she said another word, “I felt it too. Something isn’t right, and we have to find them,” she held back a sob, “soon.”

The trio continued to search for Alina and Ben calling their names as they trekked through the dense smog and misty rain. 

“Rey, I think we should head back to the Falcon.” Milo yelled to her, “Lina knows where it is. I’m sure she’ll be able to meet us there.”

She wasn’t paying any attention to him though because not far in the distance she could see someone in the distance. Her breath hitched and a lump formed in her throat. 

Even though the figure was at a distance she knew it was Ben. 

_It has to be him,_ she mused.

Without another thought, she began to sprint towards him leaving Shara and Milo where they stood.

“Wait for us!” Shara yelled as both of them chased after Rey. 

As Rey ran she thought of all of the things she was going to say to him, all of the things she was going to tell him. Had Alina already told him that she was his daughter or would Rey have to explain it to him? Would he be upset with her that it wasn’t her that brought him back? 

Would he be mad that it took them nineteen years for them to bring him back?

Rey wasn’t even sure what she would do when she saw him. It would probably take every fiber in her body not to jump into his arm and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. To say how sorry she was that she didn’t come to him sooner. To tell him over and over again how much she loved him. To bring both Ali and Ben into the tightest embrace that she could muster. To tell Alina how proud she was of her. 

But, all of her daydreams faded away once she saw Ben for the first time in nineteen years. 

Rey froze in her spot when she saw him. She couldn’t believe that Ben was really here. He was still blanketed in dense fog but she could still make him out. 

“Ben!” She yelled as she began to run towards him again. There was a big smile on her face as she got closer and closer to him. That was until she saw the body that he was cradling in his arms.

The smile that was on her face fell and her legs instantly stopped moving. Rey knew it was Ali laying in his arms but she didn’t want to believe it. She searched and searched to see if Ali was ok but… there was nothing there. No spark of life, no pulse. A lump began to form in Rey's throat and tears began to well in her eyes. 

No, no it couldn’t be. Ali couldn’t be gone, she just couldn’t. Rey had just felt her daughter's strength and light when she felt Ben come back but now there was nothing. How could she have faded away so quickly?

When Ali was first born, Rey often envisioned what Ben would have looked like holding their baby. She thought he would have looked ridiculous with his broad shoulders and tall stature holding their precious little light. He would be smiling of course. Beaming with pure joy as he swaddled the contents inside of a fluffy white blanket. She always envisioned that he would have been so attentive to their little girl.

This thought was a nightmare as she witnessed the father of her child holding their daughter’s lifeless body.

“Rey?” Ben called out to her. He couldn’t believe that she was here standing in front of him. That she came for him. That she came for them. He clung to Alina a little tighter. Clutching the daughter that he had only just met. The daughter that he knew nothing about but felt like he had known his entire life. Ben could see as she realized who he was holding in his arms. He witnessed every emotion pass through her face as he watched the bright smile that was on her face fall and her soft hazel eyes beginning to well with tears. 

Both of them had pictured this moment being a happy one. Rey had waited nineteen years to be able to be reunited with Ben again. While Ben thought that his chances of being able to have a family with Rey would never happen, yet here he was getting a second chance. They both expected hugging, tender kisses, and plenty of happy tears. They were both only met with the saddest of tears.

He could hear two pairs of footsteps running towards them but Ben couldn’t keep his eyes off of Rey. After nineteen years she looked vertically the same. There were a few wrinkles that had formed but she looked just as she did all those years ago. The most noticeable change was how long her hair was. It was nearly halfway down her back and hung loosely around her face. 

Ben didn’t take his eyes off of her even when he began to hear two pairs of footsteps racing towards them.

“Rey, what’s wrong?” Milo yelled to Rey as they came closer to her. He was a few feet ahead of Shara when he realized what was happening. His pace came to a halt when he saw Ali’s lifeless body in a stranger's arms. 

Milo couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Did he kill her? Did that monster kill his own daughter? He could already feel tears streaming down his face. The love of his life was dead. She was gone and for what cause? To bring back a man that was a monster that by chance was her father? 

As much as Milo wanted to yell and scream he knew that in a matter of seconds Shara would be joining them and there was no way that she would take the news well.

“Lina!” Shara yelled with excitement but as she got closer she noticed Ali in her father’s arms. 

“Lina?” Her voice was softer this time, more of a question but there was no response. Her pace slowed down as she came closer and closer. She stopped next to Milo and saw the tears streaming down his face. Sharas emotions began to bubble up as she realized the truth that her best friend was dead.

“Lina?!” She cried out this time and took a giant running step towards her friend but Mill grabbed her arm, stopping her from going any further. He brought her close to his and she instantly wrapped her arms around his waist and began to sob into his chest. 

Ben attempted to take a step towards Rey but collapsed to his knees. 

Rey’s breath hitched and she took two large steps just about closing the gap between them. She knew that Alina was gone but she couldn’t bear to look down at her daughter’s lifeless body. Alina was her pride and joy. The greatest that had ever happened to her and having to see her dead in her father’s arms was going to break Rey to the very core.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she finally looked down. The sob that ripped through her body sounded like something that wasn’t from this world. As she took another step to close the gap between them she too collapsed to her knees. Hot tears were now streaming down her cheeks in buckets. 

“My baby,” Rey cried out as she cupped her daughter's cold cheeks. Ali looked as though she was in a deep sleep. If it wasn’t for the bruises and dried blood on her face, Rey would have tried to convince herself that Ali was simply asleep but the rosy hue that was always in her cheeks was nonexistent and her skin was cool to the touch. “My sweet girl.” She sobbed out as she rested her forehead onto her daughter’s. 

After a few moments, she kissed her daughter’s forehead, and then for the first time in nineteen years she was able to look into Ben Solo's eyes. To her surprise, he looked exactly like he had when he died. 

“Ben,” Rey gave him the saddest smile. She looked back down at Ali finally seeing the facial features that she never realized that her daughter had that were his. “Ben she’s…. she’s yours.” She choked on her words, “She’s ours.” 

“I know.” He responded with a hiccuped laugh and gave Rey a sad smile when she looked back up at him. She let out another sob as she took one of her hands off of Ali’s cheek and cupped Bens. He leaned into her soft touch.

Slowly, he took his arm out that was underneath Alina's legs and cupped Rey’s cheek. They stayed like that for a few moments just looking into each other’s eyes, neither of them knew what to say to one another. What was supposed to be one of the happiest of moments for both of them had changed into something horrible. They had both lost a child. Even though Ben had only known his daughter for a few minutes he already loved her and he could only imagine the kind of pain Rey was going through.

In the distance, Milo and Shara were both embracing each other as they cried for the death of their friend. Both of them loved Aline more than anything and would do anything for her to be alive. They couldn’t even fathom what their lives would be like without her. 

“We have to bring her back,” Rey whispered as she brought her eyes back to her daughter.

“Rey,” Ben let out a shaky sigh, “we both know what will happen if one of us brings her back.” Of course Ben wanted to bring back his daughter. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted to have a life with her and Rey. He had already lost so much time with her. But if Rey brought her back then it would just cause an endless cycle of being stuck in the world between worlds.

“But what if we both bring her back?” Rey looked back up at Ben. A ghost of a smile started to form on her lips, “If both of us transfer energy to her then she’ll be able to come back to us.”

Ben opened his mouth to say something but Rey pleaded again, “Ben, please we have to try and bring her back. We have to bring back our little girl.”

“Okay,” he begrudgingly agreed, “we can try.”

Rey nodded her head and took the hand that was cupping Ben's cheek and grabbed one of Alina’s hands. He followed and grabbed Alina’s free hand with his. Ben and Rey looked at each other knowing what they had to do and terrified of what the outcome would be. 

Would they be able to bring Ali back to life?

Would she be able to both survive to bring her back if they did? 

They closed their eyes and began to transfer their energy to their daughter. They prayed that when they opened their eyes next they would both be alive and finally be a family. The force pulsed around them giving Alina everything that she needed to be able to come back. Everything was quiet for a few moments. Only the sound of breathing and quiet sobs were all that could be heard. Then, all of a sudden, Ali took a gasp of air.

Rey snapped her eyes open cupping her daughter's face again. 

“Ali, baby can you hear me?” Rey gently stroked Ali's cheek as she began to come to. 

“Momma?” Ali asked groggily as she blinked her eyes open. 

A laugh escaped Rey’s mouth in shock. She wrapped Ali into a hug and instantly looked up to Ben. He too had a big teary smile on his face. His daughter was alive. Alina was alive and so was he and Rey. The three of them we’re going to be a family.

As happy as the moment was between the three of them Rey could feel that Ali still wasn’t her true self again. Her injuries were still too severe and she needed to get her injuries taken care of, and there was no way that Ben was going to be able to carry Ali back to the ship. Rey placed her hand over Alina's head making her go into a peaceful sleep. 

“Milo, can you come here?” Rey called out to the boy who watched in awe as he witnessed the girl that he loved get brought to life. Milo got up, slowly releasing Shara’s grip around his waist and began to walk towards the unconventional family reunion. As he got closer he could see all of the injuries on her face. His heart broke seeing her like this and when he made eye contact with Ben, Milo could feel his blood begin to boil. Anger sprung inside of him knowing that the only reason that she was in this condition was because of her father. 

Ben could feel the boy's anger as he came over and knelt next to Rey. He could feel how much this boy cared for his daughter and all of the pain he felt seeing her in this condition. 

“I need you to take her back to the ship and put her in the captain’s quarters.” Rey shifted Ali’s weight into Milo's arms, “Then I’m going to need you to look for whatever medical equipment is on the Falcon because she’s going to need whatever Bacta patches that we have. You need to take Shara with you too to start the ship because we’re going to need to leave this place. Can you do that?” 

Milo nodded as he adjusted Ali in his arms. He cradled her tightly, making sure that he wasn’t going to jostle her too much on the journey back to the Falcon. Shara was already on her feet by the time Milo started to head towards the ship. There were still tears streaming down Shara’s face, but there was a ghost of a smile too as she saw the slight rise and fall of Alina’s chest.

As Rey watched them leave she looked to Ben who was looking at her with the same eyes that he had nineteen years ago. A look that was so gentle and soft that it made her heart almost melt. Neither of them ever thought they would see each other, let alone both be alive. 

“I … I can’t believe that… that you’re alive.” Fresh tears began to stream down Rey’s face.

“Neither can I,” Ben laughed lightly. He began to lean into Rey, cupping her cheeks in his hands, “and I’m not going anywhere.” 

Rey started to lean into him too. She had dreamed of what it would be like to kiss his lips again. The kiss that she had shared with him haunted her for years and now she finally had the chance to do it again. Their lips were nearly centimeters apart when there was a large cracking noise that came from underneath them. They quickly pulled away from each other.

“What was that?” Ben looked with wide eyes. There was another loud crack of the earth below them. It sounded exactly like when Starkiller was about to explode. The realization hit both of them as they understood what was happening. 

“The planet’s going to explode, we have to go.” Rey sprang up offering Ben her hand. He graciously took it as she helped him get to his feet. They didn’t let go of each other’s hands as they ran to the Falcon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry Rey and Ben will get their anticipated soft and mushy reunion in the next chapter!! Let me know what you think!  
> Lots of love1  
> Em <3


	18. The Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! It's super late but I really couldn't wait to get this chapter up for you guys. As promised this chapter is soft with a capital S. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Have a great week everyone!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em<3

By the time Rey and Ben got to the Falcon, the engines were already started. Rey sprinted up the ramp while Ben stayed behind and looked at the ship in awe. 

The last time he had been on this ship was when he was a young man. The  _ Millennium Falcon _ was full of memories. Some of them were the fondest memories that he had when he was growing up. So many memories of his father and mother were flooding his mind, but even though there were so many good memories there were also all the bad ones. Flashes of the final moments that he had shared with his father hit him in a wave of grief and regret.

Han might have not always been there, but he was a good father. Same with his mother. Ben hoped that he would make them proud with his second chance of life. 

“Ben,” Rey’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts, “Come on we have to go!”

Ben nodded and made a quick ascent up the ramp, Rey closing it behind him.

“I’m going to go take care of Alina and get her cleaned up. Can you go help Shara to get us out of here?” Rey could see the fear pass over Ben's eyes as he realized that he would have to fly the Falcon for the first time in nearly a decade.

“Don’t worry, Shara will do all of the flying. I just need you there to make sure that she doesn’t get us killed. I promise she’s a good pilot and take us to any planet. We can decide what we'll do next from there. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ben nodded his head, still hesitant. Rey smiled reassuringly and went off in the other direction. He stood there for a few seconds just taking everything in. The ship looked exactly as it had the last time he was on it. The walls looked slightly cleaner then they had been, and the grates in the floor had been changed out. Maker, it even still smelled like an electrical fire, fuel oil, and cheap Corellian whiskey. He could hardly even believe that this hunk of junk even flew. An alarm began to go off from the cockpit and Ben knew that his time of reminiscing was over. 

Ben ran to the cockpit to find the girl, Shara he presumed, having a complete meltdown in the captain’s chair. A familiar-looking orange-and-white droid was on the floor practically screaming at the girl to pull herself together.

“I’m trying to!” The girl yelled at the droid. She was frantically pushing buttons trying to get the alarm to stop going off.

“Here, let me help.” Ben barely even took a step into the cockpit before the droid spun around to see him. The droid clearly remembered him because as soon as he saw Ben he made a beeline right for Ben's foot. 

“Ow,” Ben yelled as the droid shouted obscenities at him. “Listen ball, I’m here to help so move aside!” 

Shara’s eyes went wide and looked between Ben and BB-8. She was shocked to see him willingly want to help her. As nervous as Shara was to let him help her get the Falcon up in the air, she knew he was probably more than capable to fly it. Besides, she knew it wasn’t the first time he was flying the ship.

“He’s right, BeeBee,” Shara sniffed, “move aside and let him help.”

BB-8 made a guttural beep Ben didn’t even know droids were capable of, a sound that was almost a growl, and moved to the side. Ben sat down in the co-pilot's seat and began pulling switches and hitting buttons like it was second nature. Shara watched in awe as Ben got the alarm to go off and got the ship ready for takeoff. 

“Are you going to help me, kid?” Ben shouted as the sounds of cracking earth became louder and louder. Shara quickly jumped into action and finished getting the ship ready. Exegol was practically collapsing in on itself when they finally got the Falcon up in the air. Shara immediately took hold of the lever between the two of them and brought them into hyperspace, a risky move from within the planet's atmosphere, and one that had Ben holding his breath. When nothing went array, Ben leaned back into the seat, thinking that he could finally take a breath. That was until they dropped out of hyperspace into the middle of hundreds of flying rocks.

“Kriff!” Shara yelled and immediately made the jump back into lightspeed.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ben shouted he did even have to ask. He knew exactly what she was doing.

“I’m hyperspace skipping.” Her voice was almost too calm, especially given her state when he’d initially found her in the cockpit. 

“Are you serious?!” He looked at her in horror, “Do you know how old this ship is? It could short circuit and blow all of us to pieces.”

“Listen, sir, I’ve been flying this ship for years, and have gotten out of bigger scrapes than this, so I think I know what I’m doing! So sit there, shut up, and if I need your help I’ll ask it!” 

_ Sir?!?  _ Did he really just get called sir by this child, and where did she get the idea of yelling at him about piloting?

Especially when it was technically his ship. Did she know who his father was?!

“Are you kidding me?” He yelled as she brought them into the dense red clouds. “Do you realize who you're talking to? I learned how to fly piloting this piece of junk.”

“Oh, I’m well aware who you are, Solo!” Shara yelled right back at him without a twinge of fear in her voice. After a few seconds of travel through the dense red clouds she brought them back into hyperspace without blinking. “The only way to get through these barriers fast enough before we get sucked into a vortex. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it the girl was actually a pretty good pilot. They had made it out of the barriers surrounded Exegol without any issues, and were now traveling through hyperspace towards their final destination. Once Ben typed in the coordinates to their destination, Shara left the cockpit though BB-8 stayed behind. 

Now, Ben watched as streaks of stars passed around the cockpit windows. 

He couldn’t believe that all of this was happening. One moment he thought he was dead, and the next he was bringing back his dead daughter with the help of the woman that he loved. It had been a whirlwind of a few hours, but maker was he happy that they all made it out all in one piece. Even if a few of the people on the ship wanted him dead. He looked at the droid next to him and remembered that not too long ago, at least to him, he was hunting the droid down for the map to his uncle. 

“I guess I should thank you.” BB-8 looked at Ben and asked why he was thanking him. “Well if the pilot had never abandoned you with the map to Luke Skywalker, then I would have never met Rey, and I would have never experienced what it is like for people to actually care about you. So thanks and I suppose I’ll have to thank the pilot when and if I ever see him.” 

_ I guess you’re welcome,  _ the droid said in binary and then left. Ben was only alone in the cockpit for a few minutes before there was a light rap on the door frame. He spun around quickly to see Shara standing in the doorway carrying a pile of clothes. 

“Hi, umm, sir, Mr. Solo, Solo… ugh, Ben? I don’t know what the hell to call you,” The girl stated nervously.

“Ben,” he nodded, getting up from his seat, “Ben’s fine.”

“Ok, my name’s Shara,” She had a small smile on her kind face. “So, Ben, Rey wanted me to give you these, so you can get changed and she also wants me to bandage up whatever you need to be patched up.”

“Oh, umm thanks,” Ben said as she handed him the clothes. At some point during the whole awkward ordeal, he came to the realization of who the girl's father must be. Ben would never forget his first experience with the cocky Resistance pilot that his mother had taken an acute interest in. “So, you’re the pilot's kid, right?”

“You knew my dad?” Shara’s face lit up with a brilliant smile.

“Well, umm, not exactly...” Ben trailed off awkwardly, averting his eyes. He watched as the young girl realized what he meant.

“Oooh, right…you were on different sides of the war…” she sighed, though there was a curiosity still there, “Do you need me to show you where the fresher is?” Ben opened his mouth to answer but was immediately cut off, “That’s a dumb question to ask. Of course, you know where the fresher is. This is basically your ship anyway. If you need me, I’ll be at the Djakar table when you are ready to get patched up.” She sighed and turned on her heels and walked away from him.

“Thank you,” Ben yelled after her, but there was no reply.  _ At least she’s trying to be nice _ , Ben mused as he walked towards the fresher.

  
  


The steaming hot water from the shower felt so good on his aching muscles. As the water washed away all of the dirt and dried blood on his body, he could finally see and feel the full extent of his injuries. There were cuts and bruises all down his arms and legs. The leg that he was convinced was broken was still throbbing, and it didn’t help that he had to carry Alina's dead weight for several miles, but he would have done it all over again if he had to. 

When he got out of the shower he found a towel and dried himself off. Ben got dressed into the clothes that Shara had given him, and was thankful that they weren’t old Jedi robes or clothes that had belonged to his father. Instead, they were just a simple pair of black pants and a soft light grey shirt. He padded down the hallway of the ship barefoot with his boots tucked under his arm. 

Shara was exactly where she said she would be at the Djakar table. The young girl looked completely bored, but as soon as she saw him she had a smile on her face and padded her hand on the spot next to her. 

“Okay, so, I’ve got a bunch of bacta patches for any cuts and gashes. I also have a syringe that will heal your leg in about an hour.” She said as Ben sat down, “What do you want to start with first?”

“I… I guess the syringe.” Ben stammered on his words as he looked at the large needle. Shara noticed the sudden change in Ben's demeanor.

“What you’re not scared of needles are you?” Shara laughed waving the needle around but stopped goofing off once she noticed that Ben didn’t find it amusing. “Stars, you really are scared of needles, aren’t you?”

“I’m not scared.” he gave her a pointed look, “I just don’t particularly like them.”

She laughed again. Not because it was funny, but because she was completely shocked, “Are you serious? You’re like over six feet tall, and are made of pure muscle, and you’re telling me that you're afraid of a tiny needle?”

“I….yeah and that needle is not tiny.” He cringed and Shara removed the protective covering.

“You can hold my hand if you’re going to be scared.” Shara held her hand out to him, but Ben looked at it in disgust.

“I’ll pass.” 

Shara frowned and pulled her hand away as if she were wounded.

“Fine,” with that Shara jabbed Ben in the arm without any warning.

Ben's eyes went wide and he had to stifle a yell as the needle pierced through his skin.

“Ow,” he growled at the girl, “You could have at least warned me!”

“You didn’t want to hold my hand, so you didn’t deserve a warning.” She pulled the needle out with a shrug and placed a small bandage over the mark on his arm.

The pair didn’t speak for several minutes after that. Shara had finished putting whatever bandages Ben needed on his legs, and had finished his right arm and was now working on his left. 

“So, how did you end up getting stuck with me?” He asked, breaking the silence between them.

“I didn’t get stuck doing it, I offered to do it.” She looked up to him with her deep brown eyes, “I went to go see if Rey and Milo needed any extra help with Lina. They didn’t, so I asked Rey if she wanted me to do anything with you. She handed me the clothes and told me to bandage whatever injuries you had, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“Oh,” Ben was shocked. He didn’t expect that she would have done this on her own accord, “thank you, err, Shara? I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” Shara gave him a big toothy grin, “you know, you really aren’t as bad as everyone says you are.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew me back then.” He laughed coldly, remembering his horrible past.

“You’re right, I probably wouldn’t be,” She laughed too, “but Rey and Lina mean the world to me. I would trust both of them with my life and if they say that you’re okay then I believe them. I didn’t have a mom growing up, and both Rey and Lina are the most influential women in my life. I don’t know what I would do if I lost either of them.”

Shara went on and on for the next several minutes telling Ben all about the friendship between her and Alina. Most of it was just white noise, but some of it was meaningful. He found out that his daughter loved nature just like her mother. Alina loved animals, and by the time she was seven, she stopped eating meat. He also learned that his daughter loved working with her hands. Ben was gratuitous that he was able to learn this information about his daughter from someone that was so close to her and he couldn’t wait to know Alina. She continued to go on and on until, the boy, Milo? came into the room. 

He looked disheveled and tired with large dark circles under his eyes. Shara stopped what she was doing to Ben. Her main concern now was Lina.

“How’s Lina?” Sharas voice was soft, and getting ready to hear the worst.

“She’s okay,” Milo sighed rubbing his hand over his face, “a lot of cuts and bruises, but she should be okay. Rey gave her a bunch of meds, so I’m sure she’ll be out for a few more hours.”

“That’s great news!” Shara squeaked, but even though she was excited and knew that both Ben and Milo were too, she could still feel the anger between both of them. So, she decided that it was her duty to break the tension the only way she knew how, by making Milo uncomfortable.

“So, Milo, I introduced myself as the best friend. Are you going to introduce yourself as the boyfriend, or something else?” Milo's eyes went wide and he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. He looked at Shara with an expression that was full of complete hatred, and then to Ben with a nervous, almost scared look. 

“Ummm,” Milo rocked on his heels, “I guess I have to now.” He practically growled in Shara’s direction. “I’m Milo, and uh yeah, I’m the boyfriend.”

“I figured,” Ben said plainly, “so uh, I guess you're the….”

“Stormtroopers, kid?” Milo cut him off, “yeah, that would be me.”

“Right, well I’m just going to go see Rey,” Ben said awkwardly and left the room.

“Way to go, Milo, you scared him away.” Shara scolded him.

“You’re the one that started it.” Milo yelled at her, “Thanks for outing me as Ali’s boyfriend. What made you think that was a good idea?”

“I don’t know! I thought it would be funny!” She started putting the medical supplies away.

“Well, it wasn’t.” Milo huffed as he sat down at the table. “So, what’s he like?” 

Shara shrugged her shoulders, “I think he’s fine, I actually kinda like him. He reminds me of Lina a lot.”

“What?” He was shocked, “There is no way that they are similar. I don’t believe it.”

“I mean he is her dad, I would be shocked if they weren’t similar.” Shara wasn’t wrong though. Ben and Alina were similar in both their demeanor and mannerisms. She found it strange knowing that they were so similar even though they had just met.

“I guess, but I’ll believe it when I see it.” Milo groaned.

* * *

Ben found the Captain’s quarters surprisingly easily. He was glad that Rey had added extra sleeping quarters. The crew quarters were always so cramped especially when he had gotten older. When he found it, he stood in the doorway just watching the scene.

Rey was perched on the edge of the bed putting the finishing touches to a bandage on Alina’s hand. Alina was sleeping peacefully on the bed. Her face was cleaned of any blood or dirt. The bloody clothes that she had been wearing were tossed into a heap in the back corner. Now, she wore an oversized grey shirt. When Rey was done with Alina’s bandage she let out a deep sigh. Ben could tell that she was exhausted and he could only imagine what she was going through now and especially what she had gone through the past nineteen years. 

“How is she?” Ben's voice was soft and sounded like music to Rey’s ears. 

“She’ll be ok.” Rey twisted her torso around so she was facing him. “We were able to heal her internal bleeding and the fracture in her leg when we brought her back, so I only had to bandage the cuts on her back, face, arms, and leg.” She glanced back at Ali’s sleeping form, “I gave her some medicine for her pain. She should be out for a few hours. How….how are you?” Rey turned back towards him. 

He smiled leaning against the doorframe, “I’m all patched up thanks to the… nervous, loud one.”

“Shara?” Rey laughed lightly, “She means well.”

“She’s one hell of a pilot,” Ben mused, making small talk

“Don’t tell Shara that. The kid’s father has been hyping her up for years about her piloting skills. The last thing her ego needs is a compliment from you.”

“That seems about right.” Ben rolled his eyes remembering the few run-ins that he had with the girl's father. “I don’t think the boyfriend likes me though.”

Rey had to stifle a loud laugh by biting her lip. “Milo’s just worried. He’ll warm up to you eventually.”

“I don’t think so.” Ben took a step inside the room. Both of the playful smiles on their faces fell knowing that they couldn’t dance around the Bantha in the room any longer. “How are you, Rey?”

Her eyes began to well with fresh tears. Emotions and feelings that she had held in for nineteen years could finally be exposed. She felt like she was 19 years old again seeing him for the first time. 

“I feel overwhelmed.” She blinked away tears, “I spent the past nineteen years thinking that I would never see you again, that you would never get to meet our daughter, and I had accepted that. I accepted that I would never share a life with you. I accepted that you wouldn’t watch our daughter grow into the incredible young woman that she has become.” Rey looked back to Ali, “Then, she found out about you, and that there was a chance to bring you back. I can’t believe she did it.” She looked back to Ben and slowly got up from her seat on the bed. “I can’t believe that she brought you back. Brought you back for me.”

“I thought I was dead.” Ben took another step towards her. His eyes were too filling with tears. “I walked around that black abyss thinking that it was the afterlife.” He broke into a light laugh and took Rey’s hands into his. The bond between them sang louder than it ever had before.

“Then she showed up out of nowhere.” He motioned his head towards his daughter.  _ His daughter _ , it sounded like such a foreign concept for something to be his. “I thought she was some manifestation of the force. I nearly took off her head with her saber. That was until she showed me who she truly was,” he laughed again, “well, more like yelled at me until I believed who she was.” 

Rey let out a teary laugh, “I wouldn’t expect anything else from  _ your _ daughter. She’s very persistent.”

“I can tell.” Ben’s teary smile faded and with his other hand he cupped her cheek, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you for nineteen years. If I had joined you sooner I would have never died and we could have…..”

“No Ben,” she reached up and cupped his cheeks, “If you turned sooner then I wouldn’t have Alina, or at least not the version that I have now. She means everything to me. It’s my fault that you weren’t there to watch her grow up.” A sob ripped through her body. She had an opportunity to bring him back the same as Alina had and she blew it. “I wasn’t strong enough to bring you back, Ben. I’m so sorry.” Tears began to stream down her face. 

“Shhh,” Ben wrapped Rey into a tight hug, “it’s none of our faults. The only thing that matters now is that we’re together.” He held her in her arms for a few moments just taking everything. He never thought he would be able to hold Rey in his arms again, have a daughter, or have a second chance at life. Yet here he was with the love of his life in his arms.

Rey looked up to Ben with her large hazel eyes. Her mind went blank with what she was about to say, but then it dawned on her exactly what she needed to say. 

“I love you,” it was quiet but the words made Ben’s heart flutter. Without a second thought, he moved his hands from h waist and cupped her cheeks. Ben leaned his head down towards Rey and she lifted herself on her toes meeting him halfway. When their lips met, it was like electricity. Their bond was buzzing once again as it had all those years ago. Rey wrapped her arms around her Ben’s neck to deepen the kiss. When they broke for air the tears in their eyes had dried. They were far too happy to shed any more tears. 

“I love you too,” Ben smiled down with a big toothy grin. Rey couldn’t help but laugh. He looked like a little boy with his dimples and rosy cheeks. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and buried her face into his neck embracing him tightly. 

Ben let out a deep sigh as he brought Rey close to his body resting his chin on her forehead. His eyes drifted to Alina, watching her steady breathing. He knew virtually nothing about his daughter other than she was strong-willed and kind like her mother. Aside from that, he knew nothing.

“I want you to tell me about her,” Rey looked up at him with a confused expression, “about our daughter. I’ve missed out on eighteen years of her life. I want to know everything about her. The good and bad.”

“I don’t even know where to begin.” Rey sighed looking back towards Ali.

“The beginning?” Ben offered. Rey nodded and offered that they sat down. He sat on the floor and patted the spot next to him. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder trying to remember every detail that had happened in the past nineteen years. 

“I feel like for the past nineteen years there have been so many things that I wanted to tell you, but now my mind is going blank.” She sighed with a light laugh, “Alina was born on the night of a rare thunderstorm on Chandrila, exactly nine months after the battle of Exegol. It was almost like she knew exactly when it was time for us to meet her.” Rey glanced up at Alina’s peaceful sleeping body, “She was so tiny when she was born, and I was shocked because I was so big, but she was so small. I’ll never forget what it felt like when they placed her on my chest and to hear her cry for the first time was the greatest sound I had ever heard.” Rey got up from her spot on the ground and sat on the edge of the bed admiring her daughter. “She was born with tufts of black curls and I knew that the blue eyes that she was born with would turn to your brown eyes. Alina looked so much like you even as an infant.” Rey looked back at Ben on the floor with tears in her eyes, “Our daughter is fierce. She is a force of nature that surprises me with everything that she does. Alina is sarcastic, funny, and persistent in what she wants. Ben, she is so kind and she loves so much and so fiercely that it hurts whenever I see her upset. She’s incredible and I’m so happy that you two get to know each other.”

“I still can’t believe this is real.” Ben laughed, “I can’t believe that she’s real.” He offered his hand to her and she sat back down next to him. Intertwining her fingers with him. “When did you find out that you were pregnant?”

Rey let out a deep sigh thinking back to one of the happiest and saddest days of her life. 

“I found out I was pregnant about three months after well,” Ben gave Rey’s hand a tight squeeze to continue, “I went to Tatooine to mourn in peace and not have to act like I was happy that the war was over. When deep down I was mourning the loss of the one person that truly understood me.” She was quiet for a few moments trying to compose herself. Those were the darkest days of her life. There were some days when she refused to get out of her bed and wanted nothing more to be dead herself.

“I’ll never forget the day I found out I was pregnant with Alina. She was nothing more than a spark of light. I didn’t want to believe it. There was no way that I could have been pregnant. We didn’t even,” Rey moved her hands around in a way trying to find the right words, and Ben couldn’t help but laugh. “but sure enough I was. Leia and slew of med droids confirmed it. My first instinct was to run away. There was no way I could raise a child, our child,” she looked at Ben with sad eyes, “and expect everyone to accept them especially if they knew who her father was. Your mother convinced me that I needed to tell my friends though. That I couldn’t just abandon them and, or make them think that I was dead. They deserved to know the truth, even if it would ruin our friendship.”

“It didn’t though?” Ben asked.

“No,” a smile crept on her face, “they were pissed sure. They asked plenty of questions… that I probably shouldn’t tell you about.” She blushed like a young girl, “They were supportive though, as much as they could be anyway. I stayed with Finn and Rose for a few weeks until I could find own my apartment. Rose was really good to me when I didn’t want to leave the house anymore because I was scared of people finding out I was pregnant. She helped me get Ali’s nursery together and was in the room when I had her. I’m shocked that she even talked to me after I yelled at her for hours and nearly broke her finger. Both Finn and Rose also stayed with me for two weeks after Ali was born to me.”

“Really?” Ben was shocked. He understood that they cared about Rey, but did they really care that much for her that they would want to help raise him and Rey’s child.

“Yeah,” Rey laughed, “I was just as shocked. Rose was about five and a half months pregnant with Milo. They both thought that it would be good practice for when they had their baby. It was nice having them around then. After the two weeks were done, I was all alone. I had just turned 21 and I had a newborn whose father I had to be keep a secret.”

“Does anyone else know?” Ben sighed, “That I’m Alina's father?”

“The only other person that knows the truth is Chewie.” Rey could feel the emotions wash over him knowing that his uncle knew the truth about Alin. “Chewie caught word from Poe that I had a baby. He didn’t believe him so he had to see it for himself. When he showed up to my apartment, I was shocked and I knew that as soon as he met Alina he would know who her father was.”

“And did he?”

“Of course he did.” Rey smiled up at him, “The moment I let him hold her, he said  _ She looks so much like him when he was a baby? Did you think that you were going to keep her hidden from me? _ ” She would never forget how gentle Chewie was with such a tiny baby. “I couldn’t help but laugh because it was true. There was no way I was going to be able to keep her a secret. Especially from him. He comes around every once and awhile. Alina loves him and I’m sure he can’t wait to see you.”

They continued like that for a few hours. Rey told so many stories about Alina and Ben just sat there listening intently to all of them. He wanted to know as much as he could about his daughter. Listening to Rey talk about all about the adventures and stories Alina when she was little were the most interesting stories he ever heard. At some point, Rey had moved to sit on Ben's lap. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and Rey’s head was resting on his shoulder. It felt so natural to be in each other’s arms. Both of them were so calm that they started to fall asleep. That was until the sound of sheets rustling filled both of their ears. 

Rey quickly broke from Ben's grip and got up from his lap. She moved to the edge of the bed again and grabbed Alina's hand.

“Ali, sweetie, can you hear me?” Rey’s voice was soft and full of worry.

“Momma?” Alinas eyes were still closed and her voice was hoarse. 

“Oh Ali,” Rey bent her head cupped her cheek leaving light kisses on her cheeks and forehead.

“How do you feel? Does anything hurt?”

Ali let out a deep groan, “Nothing hurts, but everything feels so foggy. What happened? Why are you here?”

Rey glanced at Ben. Did Ali not remember that she had brought her father back?

“What’s the last thing you remember, baby?” Rey cooed.

“I… I remember a blue butterfly and a lot of stars.” Ali talked in gibberish for a few minutes until she had a sudden realization. Her eyes went wide once she felt a particular force signature that she hadn’t heard before. She sat up quickly nearly knocking Rey over.

“I did it,” Ail whispered once she made eye contact with Ben. She had never felt so much joy until this moment. Ben gave her a gentle teary smile. “I did it.” She said it again but this time looking at her mother who had tears in her eyes.

“You did do it,” Rey cupped Alina’s face in her hands, “and I’m so incredibly proud of you.”

Then out of nowhere, Alina broke into a fit of laughter. It wasn’t Alina's normal soft laugh, no, this was a full-on belly laugh. Ben and Rey gave each other a confused look. 

“Alina, what’s wrong?” Rey’s voice laughed gently.

“This is ridiculous,” Ali’s laugh started to subside, “I brought my dad back to life and then I died. Then you two brought me back to life! Haha, that’s ridiculous. This whole thing is ridiculous.” Alina started laughing hard again, and Rey joined it. Her daughter was right, this was ridiculous. Neither of them should be alive, here they all were alive and well. Rey wrapped her daughter into a tight hug. She was so happy that Alina was alive and that she would be able to get to know Ben. After a few moments, once Alina had calmed down a bit, Rey looked to Ben and offered her hand to him. He took it and sat on the bed behind her.

“Alina this is your…” Rey was about to introduce Ben to Ali but was cut off.

“My father, yeah we met. It’s a bit fuzzy, but I’m starting to remember.” Ali smiled, “He actually tried to kill me, then I tried to kill him, and then I yelled at him…a lot. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.” Ben smiled, “I thought I lost you for a second there, kid.”

Ali opened her mouth to say something, but then she heard a loud sniffle coming from outside of the room. All three of them looked who made the noise only to find out that it was Shara. 

“I’m sorry,” the young girl squeaked out, “I…. I heard your voice, and I wanted to see if you were okay, and you are, so I’ll just go.”

“Shara wait,” Ali called out, “get over here.”

Rey and Ben moved off of the bed, and Shara practically ran into the room. She buried her face into Alina’s lap. Shara cried and cried while Ali rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.

“Shhh,” Ali cooed bending down to kiss Shara’s forehead, “I’m okay you don’t have to cry anymore.”

“But…. you… died,” she hiccuped, “I saw your lifeless body. I was so scared.” Shara picked her head up, “You promised me that you weren’t going to die but you did. You died and I thought you were lost forever.”

“But I’m okay,” Ali felt like a parent talking to her young child, “and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

Shara nodded her head and wrapped her arms around Ali’s neck burying her face into her friend's shoulder. Ali did the same. She rubbed soft circles on the girls back. 

After a few moments, Ali looked up to find Milo standing in the doorway. He had a big smile on his face seeing that Alina was okay. 

“Don’t tell me that you thought I was gone for good too?” Ali asked as she pulled away from the hug. Shara moves over on the bed to make room for Milo. 

“No,” Milo shook his head but the tears in his eyes told Ali otherwise, “you’re too big of a pain in the ass to go that easily.”

“Oh shut up, and get over here too, you big idiot.” Ali gave him a teary smile. He took three large steps into the room and sat on the bed. He cupped her face and gently kissed her forehead. Ali could feel Milos tears against her skin. When he pulled away she could see the tears rolling down his cheeks. She kissed the tears away on his cheeks and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They had a few moments of just the two of them hugging, then Shara joined in wrapping her arms around Alina's waist. All three of them were nothing more than sniffling babies.

“We’re a mess,” Ali laughed.

“Just three big babies,” Shara laughed too.

“You’re the only baby, Shar,” Milo said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“That’s not true!” Shara slapped the boy's arm, “At least I had a reason to cry this time.”

“So these are my friends.” Ali motioned a hand between Shara and Milo.

“Yeah, we’ve met.” Ben laughed.

“Shara told him that I was “the boyfriend”.” Milo gave Shara a pointed look.

“You did what?” the girl's eyes went wide, “Why, why would you do that?”

“I thought it would be funny.” Shara shrugged, “Besides everyone already knows, so why shouldn’t your dad know too?”

“You knew about us and didn’t tell me that you knew?” Alina looked at her mother.

“I’ve known for a while.” Rey admitted, “I thought you would eventually tell me, so I let you keep your secret.”

“And to be honest, I thought it was funny,” Ben remarked, and Shara let out a giggle. 

“See? I told you it was funny.” The young girl slapped Milo's arm again. 

Ali laughed and pinched Milo's cheek. She knew her father would like Shara more than him, but seeing it in action made it even better. Milo and Shara began bickering again as sleep began to pass over Alina again. She leaned up against the headboard as she could feel her eyelids beginning to feel heavy.

“Come on, kids, I think it’s time for Ali to get back to sleep.” Rey took Ben’s hand and motioned for them to leave.

“No,” Ali’s eyes snapped open, “I want them here, even if they are fighting like two loth cats.”

“Okay,” Rey sighed, “if you three need anything we’ll be in the crew quarters.”

“Okay,” Ali yawned. She was already asleep before her head hit the pillow.

“So, you’re taking me to bed already?” Ben asked coyly as soon as the door hissed shut. 

“No, not yet,” Rey laughed squeezing his hand. She knew exactly what he was insinuating at, “It’s been a long day for all of us and we could all use some rest.”

Ben couldn’t argue with her. He was exhausted from bringing back Alina and then escaping. When they got to the crew quarters he was shocked to see that it looked exactly as it had the last time he saw it. There was new bedding on the bunks and the walls were slightly cleaner but virtually it was the same. He paused in the doorway looking at the room in awe.

“What’s wrong?” Rey asked as she took off her boots.

“I just can’t believe that I’m on this ship. That it looks the same as it had when I was a kid.” Ben took a step inside kneeling in front of the bed next to Rey, “I can’t believe that I’m here with you, with our daughter. I can’t believe I get a second chance.” 

Ben looked up at Rey with such soft eyes. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, then each of his cheeks, and then finally on the lips and continued to kiss him as he sat on the bed. He could have kissed her for hours but he could feel sleep washing over both of them. When they broke apart for air Rey let out a quiet yawn.

“Come on, it’s time we got some sleep.” Ben offered. He laid down on the stiff mattress and Rey followed curling up next to him leaning her head against his chest listening to his heartbeat. He wrapped his arms around her tiny form keeping her as close as possible to him. For the first time in years, Ben felt safe, like no harm could happen to him and he knew for a fact he would not be terrorized by nightmares. 

Rey felt the same way. She was finally going to sleep in the arms of the man that she loved. Finally feeling safe in Ben's strong arms. 

It wasn’t long before both of them fell into a peaceful sleep. 


	19. Fun and Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm back and it's been a few weeks I know but the world went to shit and I had absolutely ZERO interest or ambition to write. This chapter was support to a lot longer but I felt horrible that it had taken me so long to write, so I split it into two parts. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though and let me know what yall think!  
> With lots of love!  
> Em <3

Ali's eyes snapped open to a dimly lit room. She almost jumped out of the bed from the shock of not knowing where she was. Then, it dawned on her, that she was in the captain’s quarters of the Millennium Falcon. She tried to move but found herself pinned between Milo and Shara. 

Alina would have thought everything that had happened was a dream, but her body felt stiff and sore from the hours of battle. As much as she wanted to get out of the bed and stretch her muscles, she didn’t want to disturb her two friends. Her head was resting against Milo's chest, listening to his gentle heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Her arms were draped around his shoulders in a lazy hug. Shara on the other hand was spooning up against her. The young girl's head was buried into Ali’s lower back and her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. 

The last thing Ali remembered before falling asleep was insisting to her mom that Milo and Shara could stay. She never expected that they would end up falling asleep with her. Ali wondered if either of them had gotten any sleep while she was in the temple completing her trials. By the current state that both of them were in, she guessed that the last time either of them had gotten any sleep was before she had left. She could have spent an eternity wrapped in each of their arms. Feeling the warmth of their bodies pressed up against hers felt almost soothing, but if there was one thing that she knew about taking care of herself after a battle was that she needed to get up and stretch her muscles. 

Slowly, she untangled Shara’s arms from her waist and removed Milo's arm that was around her shoulder. When Ali sat up, there was a sharp pain in her abdomen. It was almost like a knife had been driven into her side and stomach. After a few deep breaths, the pain subsided. As she started to straddle Milo to get around him she could feel him shift from under her. 

Ali quickly propelled herself over him landing softly on the cold floor. A sharp pain shot up her leg causing her to let out a soft moan of discomfort. She tried to keep quiet as she took another step towards the door another sharp pain came from her leg causing her to take in a sharp breath. As if on cue, Milo's eyes snapped open and looked at her with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asked groggily as he gently grabbed Ali’s hand, “Are you okay?”

“Shhh,” she cooed, giving his hand a light squeeze, “I’m fine, I just landed on my foot wrong. Go back to sleep.” 

“No Lina, what are you doing up?” Milo began to sit up but Ali pushed him back on the bed.

“I need to stretch my legs,” she kissed his forehead, “and a shower. I need to do something normal. Besides, I’m sure you need to sleep.”

Ali could tell that he wanted to protest her, but he leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes. She leaned down and kissed his soft lips. Milo was already fast asleep by the time their lips pulled away. Ali sighed looking at his sleeping form. She wanted nothing more but to be cuddled up next to him but the stench of herself made her almost gag. 

She walked over to one of the drawers grabbing a pair of leggings, a cropped shirt, and a breast band and headed out of the room. As she moved slowly padded down the hallway of the Falcon she noticed that the door to the crew quarters was open and when she peered inside her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

In one of the bunks, her parents slept peacefully in each other's arms. It was such an odd sight to see. Mainly because it was such a new sight in general. Alina was out of it the last time she was awake. She barely had any time to see them together but seeing them together like this... Sleeping in each other’s arms as though they had been doing it for years, made all of the grueling agonizing pain that she went through worth it. 

She would go through all of it again to be able to see them like this. Ali would rather have stayed dead than have to live a life without her father in her mother's life. 

As she walked towards the bathroom she thought about the conversation she had with her relatives. It felt almost calming knowing that they were always looking out for her. She wondered if they would ever come to her again or if they had come to her mother in her times of need. 

Once she got to the fresher, Ali immediately began removing her clothes. As she peeled away her clothes she finally got to see the full extent of her injuries. Her body was so covered in purple splotches and scabbed over cuts that it was hard to tell what the color of her skin actually looked like. The bandages that were covering her middle helped a little bit. They took away the pain but left her with the mark to prove that she had been through a battle. She would probably be left with scars to remember what had happened on this day but she would wear them proudly. Alina would never be able to forget the sacrifice that she nearly made today.

She would also never forget the almost sacrifice that her parents made today by bringing her back to life either. It made her eyes well with tears just thinking that she would have left her parents without their only child. That she would have left Shara and Milo without their best friend. The thought was unbearable. Ali would forever be grateful to her parents for this second chance of life that they had given her. 

Once Alina finally got into the shower she let out a hiss of pain at the sensation of water entering her cuts. Because of this, her shower was short-lived. She simply just wanted to rub away all of the dirt that was still clinging to her skin and the mud that was caked into her hair. There was no way she was going to be able to get a brush through the knotted mess that was her hair. 

When she was done, Ali dried off and got dressed in her fresh clothes. She felt like a new woman but now the real hard task was upon her. 

Brushing out her hair. 

Ali’s hair had always been difficult to deal with. Her curls had been a menace since she was a little girl and it didn’t help that she liked to keep it long. The moment that she felt her hair coming undone and landed in the mud while fighting the Knights of Ren she knew that if she made it out alive that her hair was going to be a disaster. Ali grabbed the brush that she was used to using off the sink and even though it never had a problem before coming through her hair it was no match to the knots embedded in her hair. 

She groaned as she could feel her hair being ripped out of her scalp and before she knew it the brush was stuck in her hair. She tried over and over again to try and get the brush out but it wouldn't budge. Ali was half tempted to wake her mom up to help her get the knots out; she didn’t have the heart to wake her up from being in such a comfortable position but she didn’t have a problem waking up Milo or Shara to help her. Although to her surprise when she came out of the fresher and began down the hall Milo was already standing in the hallway. 

“You good?” He laughed noticing the hairbrush that was stuck in his girlfriend's hair and the disheveled look on her face.

“Help me.” She wines with a pout on her face.

“Come here.” Milo motioned for Ali to come to him with a broad smile on his face. With one quick pull, the brush was out of her hair. He grimaced looking at the large knots in her hair, “Looks like I’ve got some work to do.”

“Do you think I’ll have to cut it?” Alina looked up at him with sad eyes. Even though it was a pain in the butt to take care of, she loved her long curly hair. 

“Let’s see what I can do, then we’ll talk about chopping it off.”

The couple set up shop at the Darajik table. Ali sat on top of the table while Mile kneeled behind her trying to work out the mangled hair. It hadn’t been the first time that Milo had helped Ali with her hair. There had been times when they would have quiet moments alone between the two of them where Milo would  _ attempt  _ to braid her hair. It was almost comical seeing him try and tackle a task that she had practically mastered by the time she was eight. The couple sat in silence as Milo, as gently as he could comb through Alina's hair.

“So,” Ali’s voice was quiet as it broke the silence between them, “what do you think?”

“It doesn’t look good babe…”

“Not about my hair, Milo,” she turned around so that she was facing him, “I’m talking about him.”

“Ah,” Milo raised his eyebrows, understanding what exactly she was asking him, “Do you want my honest opinion or do you want the sugar-coated truth?”

“I mean,” she laughed nervously, “I do appreciate your honesty but I have a feeling that I’m not going like what you have to say.” 

“It’s not that I don’t like him,” Milo signed, setting the brush on the table, “it’s more like I don’t trust him. I know that you believe that he’s a changed man and I want more than anything to believe you, but we all know his past.” Alina's face fell knowing the truth of it all. She too wanted to believe that her father was as good as her mother claimed that he was. Milo cupped her cheek and lifted her head to look at him. “I just want to make sure that he is the man that you and your mom believe he is before I decide whether I like him or not. It’s not like I don’t want to like him even if he is your father.”

Ali nodded her head in agreement. Of course, Milo would be wary of her father, she would be shocked if he wasn’t. As long as he would try and like him or at least get along with her father that would be enough for her. “I guess I could live with that.”

“I know it’s not what you want to hear.” he took her hand into his, “Just give me time and I’m sure I’ll get used to him.”

“No, no I get it. I have to get used to it too.” She gave him a soft smile, “I've never had a dad before. The life that I knew before I found out about him will never be the same. We’re going to have to change our lives now that he’s here and I don’t even want to think about how everyone will react to Ben Solo coming back from the dead.”

“I guess you didn’t think about everything that would happen after you brought him back, did you?” He asked with a smile on his face. 

“Do I ever think before I do anything?” The two of them laughed together because it was true. Alina had always been an on the spot decision-maker. She rarely ever planned out anything that she did. It would end in her favor but sometimes her idea of what would happen ends horribly. She prayed to the force that this brash decision would end in her favor too. 

“Not really, but I guess the last big decision that you made was admitting that you were into me and that took you sixteen years.” Milo leaned in and gave her a light kiss on her lips.

Ali pulled away with a smile on her face, “And I guess I haven’t regretted that decision yet but who knows things could change.” Milo opened his mouth to protest but Ali had crashed her lips to his before he had a chance to speak. Their lips were barely locked together for a minute before Shara made her grand entrance into the room.

“Ewwww,” She yelled looking at her two friends in disgust, “can’t you two lock lips somewhere not out in the open where everyone else could see?”

“Well, you were in bed next to us so we thought it would be better if we came out here.” Ali teased spinning around to face her friend. The younger girl's eyes were still puffy from crying hours ago and her wild hair had been maintained into a knot on top of her head.

“You’re disgusting,” Shara pointed a finger at her friend, “So, what are you two actually doing other than sucking face?”

“Lina's hair is a knotted mess and she asked me to try and brush it out.” Milo picked up the brush to show it to her, “I’ve done all I could but you could try.”

Shara took one look at her friend’s hair and shook her head, “There is no way you can save this monstrosity, Lina. You’re gonna have to cut it.” She took a few steps into the Galli and grabbed the scissors from one of the drawers. Ali’s eyes went wide as Shara spun around with a menacing look on her face.

* * *

Rey woke up in the same position that she had fallen asleep in. Her face was pressed against his chest listening contently to his heartbeat. It was probably one of the most wonderful sounds that she had ever heard. It meant that he was alive sleeping next to her and that she had dreamed about Alina bringing him back to her. She shifted in his arms, pulling herself up burying her face, and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

Even though they had never shared a bed before it felt so comfortable and natural for them to sleep together. To be intertwined in each other’s arms and cuddle up next to each other felt like a dream but it wasn’t a dream. At least not anymore it wasn’t. This was now their reality and Rey would do everything in her power to keep it this way.

She could feel Ben shift from underneath her. His hands that currently were around her hips moved to her shoulders. He placed soft kisses on her forehead and cheeks. Rey looked up at him with a sleepy smile and Ben matched hers with a wide toothy grin.

“How did you sleep?” Rey asked with a yawn.

“It was probably the best night's sleep I’ve had in my thirty years in this galaxy.” He gave her another kiss on her forehead, “How about you?”

Rey opened her mouth to speak, but then the sound of running footsteps and arguing going on deep inside of the ship. She let out a deep groan realizing the reality that three teenagers were running amuck around the ship.

“Good,” She laughed pulling herself up and leaving the bed, “but I should probably go see what the kids are up to.” She grimaced as she heard even more yelling coming from Alina and Shara. “Ready for your first experience of parenting teenagers?”

Ben sat up making a face of disgust if there was one thing he was not sure if he was ready to be a parent. “I think I’ll have to pass, but I guess I’ll watch.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Rey laughed and grabbed his hand. The couple left the crew quarters and headed towards the commotion. When they walked into the main hull of the ship Alina was standing on top of the table, Shara was aggressively holding a pair of scissors towards her friend, and Milo was leaning against the cupboards of the galley hysterically laughing. Everything seemed to stop once Rey and Ben came into the room.

“Why?” Rey let go of Ben's hand and threw both of her hands up in the air. 

“I can explain,” Ali looked nervously between her parents.

“Okay, well I’m waiting for an explanation.” Rey’s voice was short with her daughter. It reminded Ben of when their force bonds first started and their last confrontation on the ruins of the Death Star.

“So, my hair is a knotted mess because I landed in a very large mud puddle, but you knew that already.” She was talking so fast that it almost reminded Ben of his father explaining himself to Leia after he had done something stupid and/or reckless. “I tried to brush it out, then Milo tried, but it was no use. Then this one,” Ali pointed at Shara who had a wide grin on her face, “thought it would be a good idea to chase me with a pair of scissors trying to cut my hair.”

“Shara, hasn’t your father taught you about running with scissors?” Rey asked with a sigh as she pinched her nose.

“Oh, he mentioned it, but when do I ever really listen to him?” The younger girl laughed.

Rey rolled her eyes at the response. She had always been a defiant child. “And what about you?” She pointed a finger to Milo, “I thought you were the responsible one and wouldn’t let them kill each other?"

“I’ve decided to just let them have it out until one of them gets hurt, then I intervene.” Milo laughed crossing his arms. 

“Do you think you can do something for it?” Ali turned to face her mother holding up a chunk of her matted hair. Rey began to open her mouth to offer help but was hushed by the sound of scissors cutting through hair.

Everything happened so fast that Ben wasn’t exactly sure where to look. Alina spun around to see Shara gleefully holding a large chunk of her friend's dark curls. Rey went to grab her daughter’s arm, but the girl was far too fast for her mother. Before any harm could be done, Milo acted fast and hoisted Alina into his arms and her over his shoulder. 

“You bitch!” Ali yelled pounding on Milos back, “Put me down, you idiot! Let me at her!” 

“Yeah right, I’ve seen you fight and you’ll kill her.” Milo laughed carrying her to the cockpit to cool off.

“Why?” Rey asked in annoyance, grabbing the scissors off of Shara.

“You’ll be happy that I at least gave you a head start on that disaster.” Shara tried to brush it off, but it suddenly dawned on her that maybe that wasn’t the most logical idea. 

Sometimes, Share truly did show how immature she was. 

Rey groaned and grabbed Ben by the arm in annoyance at her niece, “Come on, let’s go.”

Shara was ultimately right though, there was no way that Alina's hair was going to be salvaged. Rey was able to brush out a majority of the knots and get Alina's hair a few inches past her shoulders. 

“How did this even happen?” Rey asked as she began to cut. “It looks like you rolled around in a mud puddle.” 

“Well…Ummm,” Ali laughed nervously as she looked to Ben who was next to her in the pilot's chair, “I got smacked in the stomach by a Knight of Ren and fell into a very large mud puddle.” 

Ben grimaced at the thought of Alina having to fight men that he once considered family, but they never really were his “family” to begin with. They were nothing more than pons in the scheme to bring him to the dark side and to destroy everything and everyone that he loved. He was glad that they were dead and he was even happier that his daughter was able to defeat the Knights of Ren.

“Well, that would explain the broken ribs,” Milo said as he leaned against the doorway.

“And the concussion.” Rey sighed solemnly.

“Yeah,” Ali laughed lightly trying to break the mood, “your friends suck.” She looked at Ben with a smile on her face.

“I wouldn’t consider them my friends,” he laughed, “but yeah, they did suck.” 

If Alina had to fight his knights then he could only imagine all of the other demons from his and even Rey’s past that she had to fight. Ben wondered if she would ever tell him what exactly she experienced. Ben hoped that he and Alina could have some sort of relationship together. As he watched Rey and Alina interact together, it made his heartache. He had missed out on so much of her life. A life that he knew nothing about. Ben knew that it would be hard but he would do anything and everything to try and have a relationship with his daughter.

Rey could see that Ben and Ali were trying. She expected that their first interactions with one another wouldn’t be as though they had known each other for years. That they wouldn’t exactly be bonded from the two of them first meeting. They were trying though. Ali was cracking jokes with him and he was laughing, genuinely laughing. It wouldn’t be easy, but Rey knew that one day they would finally get there.

“Alright, I’m done,” Rey said once she cut the final knot out of Alina's hair. The young girl reached her hand to feel how short it was. “I tried my best but…” 

“It’s okay,” Ali looked up to Rey with a smile on her face, “It’s just hair, it will grow back. Besides I’d rather lose some of my hair rather than my life, or someone that I care about.”

“Then why did you wanna beat me up after I cut a piece off?” Shara asked, pushing past Milo I the doorway.

“Because,” Ali got up from the seat and gave her friend a playful poke on the nose, “I didn't think that you would actually cut it.”

“Well, aren’t you glad I did?” Shara asked as she moved a rogue curl away from Alina’s face, “The last time you cut your hair this short was when you were eight. Besides, I think you look better with shorter hair, anyway.”

Ali rolled her eyes, “Well, it is a lot less heavy than it was before. Besides, now I get a chance to wear my hair down for once and not have to yell at Milo when he messes it up.” 

“Good,” Milo laughed, “one last thing that I don’t have to get yelled at about.” 

They fell into a comfortable silence as they watched as stars fly past them while in hyperspace. Then there was a sudden alarm indicating that they were near the location Ben was sending them to.

“Where are we going anyway?” Rey asked as she took her spot in the copilot's seat, “You never did tell me.”

“Naboo,” Ben said plainly as he began to click the button that would bring them out of hyperspace. 

“Why Naboo?” Ali asked.

“There is a home there that belonged to my grandmother.” He looked back to Alina.

“Wasn’t your grandmother queen of Naboo, at one point?” Shara sat next to Ali, “Then wasn’t she a senator up until her death? Wait, are we going to the lake house that your grandparents hid for a month from the bounty hunters that the Trade Federation sent after her?”

All four of them started at Shara in confusion. Where the hell did she learn all of that? Ali has spent the last four years of her life organizing the library at the temple. She had spent hundreds of hours reading text after text and so many holos that it made her eyes hurt. Even though her head was chocked full of knowledge she barely knew anything about her grandparents. 

“What?” Shara looked between everyone, “My dad made me join the Legislative Youth Program and we had to take classes on influential female senators.” The young girl laughed, “Actually, we spent a whole week learning about your family.”

“Umm, yeah,” Ben gave Rey an even more confused look, “we’ll be going to Varykino. It’s an island in the lake country of Naboo.”

“Have you ever been there?” Ali asked.

“Once, but it was short-lived.” he said flatly, “I was more preoccupied with other things when I learned that the home belonged to me to have an interest in it.”

When Rey told Ben to choose the place where they would lay low he knew exactly where he was going to take them. It wasn’t long before he had met Rey that he learned of the lake house on Naboo. Ben had visited the home briefly by himself once looking to see if he could find anything that could tell him about his grandparents there. When he visited, he learned that the home had been abandoned many years before, but was still in a decent condition. Although, anything that had belonged to Anakin or Padme had been taken out of the home. It had been fully furnished though and that was all they needed at this point.

There was no way of knowing what condition the home stood today, but as long as they were able to stay there for a few days or even a few weeks, so they could be able to figure out what would happen next that was all that mattered. 

As long as he was able to spend some time with his family before reality would strike them that was all that mattered because none of them had any idea what would happen when the galaxy found out that Ben Solo, or more notably Kylo Ren was alive once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: How are there over 4 thousand of you that have read this?!!?!?!? How??? I literally thought no one was going to read this. Literally not a single soul. So I am shocked that there are so many of you.


	20. Love Will Find a Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! It's been a while and I'm sorry. I've had a really bad case of writer's block/ way too many ideas on how I wanted this chapter to go. This chapter is a doozie and was 21 pages in my Word doc so I hope makes up for the three-week hiatus.   
> I hope you are all well and enjoy this chapter. Comments are greatly appreciated and give me joy!  
> Lots of Love!  
> Em <3

Once they broke through the atmosphere of Naboo, Rey left the cockpit to begin packing a few bags of things that they would probably need while they were staying at Varykino. Ali had volunteered to help, but only because there had been something that had been weighing on her when she learned that they weren’t going home to Chandrila and that Ali felt like she needed to get off of her chest.

“What are we doing, mom?” Ali asked once they were far enough from the cockpit so nobody else could hear them. “We should be going home and trying to figure out our lives, not taking a holiday to some lake house.”

Rey stopped dead in her tracks and let out a deep sigh. She knew that this was eventually coming. As much as she wanted to take Ben to the home that she and Alina had built together there was no way that they could begin that now.

“We can’t go back, at least not without a plan.” Rey turned to face her daughter.

“What do you mean we need a plan?” She looked at her mom with a confused expression on her face, “A plan for what? Momma, we have responsibilities, lives. What about the temple? What about your students?”

“My students will be fine without me for a few more days. I've already extended their break after I realized what you were doing.” She took a breath after explaining her plan for the temple trying to steady herself before she told Alina why exactly they couldn’t go home yet. “We need a plan to get him into Chandrila without being caught or seen by anyone.” Rey’s face didn’t show any sight of worry but her voice gave it away that she was nervous. “If it gets out that he’s alive,” she took in a sharp breath as she tried to suppress the emotions that she was feeling, “I don’t even want to think about what they will do to him if they know he’s alive.”

Ali had heard stories of what they had done to the members of the First Order that had survived Exegol. Many of the Ex-Stormtroopers and other lower-ranking officials that promised allegiance to the Republic were spared and got to live “normal” lives. Well as normal as their lives could be after being forced to be soldiers at such a young age. Higher ranking officers were not so lucky though. Trials went on for weeks, even months, to decide the fates of these men and women. Many of them were placed in prisons. Their sentences varied from only a few years or life in prison. Then there were those at the highest positions that refused to cooperate. Those that refused to give any information and commitment the most heinous of war crimes were put to death. Alina knew that this was now her mother’s greatest fear. Ben had finally come back to her and their little family. The thought of losing him now would be a devastating blow that she would never recover from.

“Do you think they will kill him if they know that he’s alive?” Ali’s mouth felt dry and she could feel the tears pricking at her eyes.

“I know that they will kill him. Theirs no doubt about that. That’s why we need a plan before we go back home,” Rey cupped her daughter’s face. She could see the horror in her daughter's eyes at the thought of losing her father that she nearly died to bring back. “but we need to go somewhere where your uncles and aunt can meet your father. Then we go from there and decide on a way to bring him back safely without anyone spotting him.”

“Do you even think that Poe, Finn, and Rose will accept him?” Ali knew very little of the past between her uncles and her father. Although, she did know that their paths must have crossed at some point during their time in the Resistance and First Order. 

“I’m hoping that they will at least get along with him for our sake.” Rey let out a soft laugh moving her hands to Alina’s shoulders, “I haven’t even told them what had happened yet.”

Ali didn’t have to ask why her mom hadn’t spread the news that she was ok and that Ben Solo was once again part of the galaxy. Rey needed time to process everything for herself before she told her friends what had happened. How would she even tell them that the man that they once hated and feared was back from the dead?

“Ok,” Ali nodded in agreement. “Do you think we can do it?”

“I hope so.” She gave Ali a reassuring smile trying to hide how scared she truly was, “I really hope so.”

It was early afternoon by the time Ben had landed the Falcon on the shore of the lake. As the group came down the ramp they marveled at the extravagant home on the water's edge. To Ben's surprise, the house looked the same as it had the last time he visited. There was some overgrowth of vines and other shrubs but otherwise, it looked just as it had the last time he was here over 20 years ago. He still was having a hard time processing that he hadn’t existed in this galaxy for nineteen years. So many things had changed in that it was hard for him to wrap his head around it all. The one that still shocked him and would probably shock him for the rest of his life was the fact that he had a daughter. 

It was still such a strange thing to comprehend. There was a part of him that still couldn’t believe it yet here she was. Ben watched as Alina slid her boots and socks off so she could feel the sand between her toes. She walked around the ship and marveled at the crystal clear water of the massive lake. He could sense that all she wanted to do was to dip her feet into the water. Even though she seemed so mature for her age there was still some piece of her that was still so childlike. It reminded of something that he would have done when he was her age. 

It took Ali a few minutes to process exactly where she was. As much as she had tried to suppress the vision that she had when she touched the mirrored wall on Ahch-to she couldn’t believe where she was. The vision of her parent’s wedding that she saw replayed in her head over and over again comparing the details of the home and realizing that they were the same place. Ali was so deep in her thoughts that she hardly realized that her parents and friends were already on her way up the path towards the large house. She ran through the warm sand as Ali tried to catch up with them. 

“What were you doing?” Milo whispered down to Ali once she joined the group.

“I’ve seen this place.” she said as she linked her hand with Milos, “Do you remember the vision that I had when we were on Ahch-to?”

“The one about their wedding?” He nodded towards Rey and Ben.

“Yeah,” Ali nodded, “this is where it happened. Here on Naboo at Varykino. Maybe it wasn't what could have been but instead what is going to happen?” That made Alina feel slightly better considering the conversation that she had with her mother only a few moments ago. Maybe they would be able to keep Ben a secret and he would be able to live out the rest of his life with them and not in a fear of dying. 

As they walked up the stairs to the balcony of the main entrance of the home they could now see how grand the home was. The doorway was engraved with an intricate design of the national flowers of Naboo and the emblem of Naboo. BB-8 tried to open the door using his scomp link but was unable too because of how old the mechanism in the door was. Luckily, Shara brought the scomp link that Ali had given her for her birthday this year. Ben and Rey both lifted an eyebrow questioning how their daughter would have gotten something that was usually only used by criminals.

“Where did you get that?” Rey asked peering over the girls as they tried to open the door. 

Both girls stopped what they were doing. They looked at each other giving each other a cheeky smile and then looked towards Rey. 

“Don’t ask.” The girls laughed nervously.

“More like she made it herself.” Milo rolled his eyes remembering how she had begged him for months to help her with the wiring. “I doubt it will work anyway.”

“It’ll work don’t worry,” the girl gave him a pointed look, “Besides if it doesn’t I’m blaming you since you’re the one that did the wiring.” He was the only one that knew anything about how to hardwire something that wasn’t a ship. Who else was she supposed to ask?

“She gets this from you.” Rey laughed towards Ben who had a broad smile across his face as if she had been waiting years to say that phrase. 

A second later the door hissed open. “Yes!” the girls yelled in unison in celebration and gave Milo a look of, I told you so. 

“So how long have you been waiting to say that one mom?” Ali laughed facing her mother.

“Hmmmm let me think about that,” Rey mused smiling up at Ben as he took his hand into hers. She could probably say that from the moment Alina was born she wanted to comment on what her daughter had received from her father but that sturred up far too many emotions, so Rey went with when her personality started to shine, “Probably when you were about two. You were just plain awful.”

Ali subsequently rolled her eyes remembering the stories that her mother had told her of the mischief that she would get into at such a young age. It wasn’t long after Alina’s second birthday that she began showing her force abilities. Causing objects to fly off of their places and trying to get her way by using mind tricks were a few of her most notorious shenanigans. 

The inside of the house was just as grand as it was on the outside. Large rooms that were full of the finest decor and furniture that could be found on Naboo. All of them though were covered in sheets to keep away dust and the curtains were drawn tightly to keep the sun's rays out. Even though the home was nearly in complete darkness it was apparent how stunning it truly was. The famous house that was a retreat to the reformer queen of Naboo Padme Amidala and then was used to keep safe as a senator. A home that was once full of so much life and laughter at one point in time was now left to be covered up for no one to ever lay eyes on it again. A forgotten piece of the past. 

That was until now. 

It wasn’t long before each of them took a room and began cleaning. They began taking off coverings of furniture and cleaning up dust that had formed from years of being neglected. Even though the home had been left alone for nearly twenty years Varykino was not as dirty or dilapidated as Ben had expected it to be. He found himself in a much larger sitting room that was located in the main section of the house. The large couches told him that the room was used by his grandmother and her handmaidens. Used by her family when they came to spend time together to escape the political life of Theed. 

A part of Ben wished that when he was younger that there was a place for him and his parents to go when he was growing up to just get away from their crazy lives. When Ben was young he spent most of his time with his father learning how to fly, fix ships, and do all sorts of things that would make anyone of importance that they would run into in the process turn their nose up in disgust. The only time he ever saw his mother for a few hours each night before he went to bed. Ben loved his parents then and still did now cherishing the memories that he shared with them in his youth. Everything changed though once he joined Luke at the temple. From that point on he only ever saw his parents once, twice, maybe three times a year if he was lucky. The visits were short-lived only lasting a few days and would mostly consist of them taking holo calls from diplomats or colleagues that he barely got to spend any time with his mom and dad. As much as Ben still loved his parents even after everything that had happened between them, he still held a bit of resentment that they were always more concerned about their careers than him.

When Rey found Ben he was leaning against the back of one of the large couches staring blankly out the large window that overlooked the lake. She could tell that he was deep in thought about something that was troubling him. So Rey knew that she needed to tread lightly. She took a few steps inside before she made her presence known.

“Hi,” Rey said quietly as she took a few steps into the large main sitting room.

Ben seemed to instantly calm down knowing that Rey was near. “Hi,” he had a small smile on his face as he turned to face her.

“Are you ok?” She asked joining him by the couch sitting down where he was standing. “You looked completely out of it.”

“Yeah,” he laughed softly taking a seat next to her, “I was just thinking about my parents.”

“Oh,” her voice went up an octave in shock. Of course, he would be thinking about his parents though because well he was now a parent too. “Do you want to talk about it or them to me?” 

“I don’t know,” he let out a deep sigh, “it’s just…” 

“A lot?” Rey offered with a laugh.

“This,” Ben motioned his hands in a large circle, “is definitely more than a lot. I have nineteen years of life that I’ve missed out on. I just need to let it all set in.”

“I know.” Rey laughed, taking his hand into hers. “And trust me we have nineteen years worth of stories that we can tell you to catch you up on everything that you missed.”

She looked up into his large eyes with so much love that it made Ben’s heartache. He never thought that there could be anyone in the galaxy that could love him as much as she loved him. Ben had never felt so comfortable and calm in the presence of someone in his life. It was probably one of the most incredible feelings that he had ever experienced. He moved his hand to cup her cheek. Rey leaned into his touch feeling the warmth of his palm. The bond between them sang once again as it had all those years ago. It felt nice to have a moment alone before there was the sound of approaching footsteps and hushed voices that suddenly stopped once they came past the doorway.

“Ummm should we come back later?” Ali laughed uncomfortably.

Rey and Ben pulled away quickly. Their eyes were wide as if they were teenagers being caught by their parents.

“No,” Rey rolled her eyes getting off the couch, “What are you three up to?”

“Well Shara found the wine cellar in true Shara form and the three of us decided that we should celebrate because we all made it out alive.” Alina had two engraved in her hands, Milo had the other three glasses, and Shara held a very dusty bottle of wine.

“Especially because nobody is dead anymore and hopefully nobody decides to croak any time soon,” Shara added as she began to pour glasses of the deep red contents of the bottle. 

Once each of them had a glass of wine they awkwardly stood around each other.

“Do we say something or do we just drink?” Ali asked, swirling the contents of her glass around.

“No, I think we should say something.” Rey looked up to Ben.

“What me?” He gave her a confused expression. She urged him to go on, “Ok… here’s to…” Ben didn’t know what to say. The only speeches that he ever had to give weren’t considered light-hearted in even the slightest sense.

“Family?” Ali offered with a shrug, “and maybe none of us will die any time soon.” She laughed.

“That’s something I can drink too.” Milo motioned his glass towards Alina.

“To family.” all five of them repeated in unison as they raised their glasses to their lips to take their first sips but even though the wine had a sweet smell it tasted like how engine fuel smelled. All of them gagged at the vile taste of the wine except Shara who downed her glass in one quick gulp.

“Did you actually like this acid?” Alina coughed looking at her friend in horror.

“Yeah, why? I’ve had nastier tasting liquors in my life.” Shara shrugged, taking Alina’s glass from her hands and taking a long sip of her friend’s glass.

“You know Shara sometimes you really do concern me.” Ali sighed, taking her glass back and the bottle that was still in her friend's hand and setting it on the coffee table. 

It wasn’t long until they had settled into the home, making themselves comfortable by unpacking the few belongings that each of them had. Alina and Shara insisted that they couldn’t eat anything else that was in the form of a nutrition bar or powdered drink otherwise they would “die”. So Alina, Shara, and Milo decided that they would go in hunt of a local market to find food. They used one of the many still functioning gondola speeders that were docked at the water’s edge to be able to get around the lake. While the kids were gone Ben and Rey continued to clean the house. 

Neither of them really said anything while they were alone together. Both of them were quiet and acted almost shy around one another. They were acting as if they were teenagers just falling in love for the first time. Which seemed ridiculous because they had an eighteen-year-old daughter but wasn’t all at the same time. The force had kept them separated for nineteen years. Their relationship was new yet old all at the same time. Even though they shared a bond they virtually knew nothing about each other. Ben and Rey could feel each other's emotions sure and a little bit about each other through visions but that was it. 

As they cleaned the last few bedrooms Rey could feel Ben stealing glances at her every once and a while. It almost reminded her of Ali and Milo when they were first dating and would steal glances at each other when they were all together. She had never had a fling with anyone when she was in her teen years but now she had never felt more like a teenager than she did now. 

Within an hour the kids had returned with bags full of food that could probably feed a small army but their return into the home was brief. By the time Rey and Ben found them they were already undressing to only their undergarments to go swimming. As the couple came onto the terrace they saw Shara already in the crystal blue water of the lake floating on her back and Alina attempting to drag Milo's large form into the water as he took his pants off. 

Ben watched as a small smile began to form on Rey’s lips as she watched them. He could sense the longing in her heart. Not necessarily to join them but the longing to be that young aging. To be able to have fun and not have a care in the galaxy. How she longed to be able to act foolish with the one she loved.

“You know if you want to join them we can?” Ben offered, breaking Rey from her thoughts.

Rey laughed, “No I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh come on.” a smile grew across Ben's face, “Are you afraid of what could be in the water?”

“Noooo,” she had a sheepish smile on her face.

“What don’t tell me that you can’t swim?” He laughed but noticed the smile on Rey’s face. “You don’t know how to swim?” Ben was shocked. How did she not know how to swim? Weren’t there times in her life when she needed to know how to swim. “Haven’t you needed to know how to swim at some point in your life? You’re a forty-year older Jedi that doesn’t know how to swim?”

“One,” Rey pointed a finger playfully into his shoulder, “I’m thirty-nine. I have another seven months before I’m forty so watch it, Solo.” A smile spread across her face as she looked up at him, “Two, yes I have  _ had  _ to swim in some situations but they were only for short bursts and mainly for my survival. I hated every second that I have ever had to do it.”

“But otherwise you don’t know how to swim?” Ben asked, taking the hand that Rey had pointed against his shoulder into his. He had a large cocky smile spread across his face. 

“No Ben,” she rolled her eyes in annoyance, still with a smile spread across her face, “I don’t know how to swim.”

An almost mischievous smile spread across as a plan began to brew in his head but he would have to conduct it later.

“What about Alina? Who taught her how to swim since you didn’t?” Ben asked, wrapping an arm around Rey’s shoulder. 

“Milo taught her a few years ago.” Rey and Ben watched as the young couple played around in the water, “Finn and Rose took the kids Lake Andrasha for a week a few years ago. Ali didn’t want to go. She was terrified because she couldn’t swim. The only way she would go was if someone taught her how to swim.” She laughed thinking of the memory not too long ago, “Shara had offered but Ali didn’t feel comfortable with that, so Milo offered to teach her. Looking back on it now that was probably the beginning of their relationship.”

“You didn’t know how their relationship started?” Through watching Rey and Alina, Ben thought it seemed as though the pair were inseparable. 

“Well, mothers always know when their children are keeping a secret,” Rey laughed, “but Poe found them kissing behind an X-wing one day, and when he finally told me I was shocked.” She remembered how Poe had commed her and was acting as though it was the end of the world that they were kissing. Even though Rey had heard plenty of stories of all of the inappropriate things he had been caught doing to women. 

“Why were you shocked?” Ben asked. 

“Alina and Milo hated each other when they were little.” She laughed, “They constantly fought from the ages of three to about ten. Rose and I were convinced that they would never stop. We joked every once and a while that it was because their fathers had a deeply rooted hatred for each other that somehow was passed through conception.” Ben rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but laugh.

“Or maybe its because her mother is absolutely feral and doesn’t know how to use her words to explain her feelings.” Ben leaned down capturing Rey’s lips before she could protest. Rey let the kiss last for a few moments before she pushed him away from her. 

“You nerfhearder,” Rey let out a laugh in surprise, “and I did use my words, Solo.” Ben gave her a pointed look remembering the final moments that they shared at the final Death Star when she had stabbed him and then had instantaneous regret and healed him. “Well maybe I didn’t then but I'll promise to use them from now on.” 

“And I will too.” He cupped her cheek again and brought her face to his again. Rey lifted herself onto her toes to kiss his lips. This kiss was much more tender than the first kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to deepen the kiss. 

“Eww,” Sharas voice rang in both of their ears. Rey quickly spun around to find Ali, Shara, and Milo standing at the top of the stairs dripping wet. 

“I get it you two were separated for a long time but are we going to need to talk about all of the PDA?” Ali asked, ringing out water from her hair.

“Very funny Alina,” Rey rolled her eyes, “now the three of you get inside and dry off before I start making dinner.” The sun was just beginning to set over the mountain and there was a slight chill in the air. The three of them headed inside while Ben and Rey stayed outside.

“I always expected you to be a strict parent.” Ben teased placing his hands on Rey’s shoulders as they watched three kids head inside of the house.

“I am not strict.” Rey turned her head slightly to scold him, “I’m the fun aunt, and trust me I’m the fun parent.”

“Hmmmm,” he hummed as he planted a kiss on her forehead, “we’ll see about that sweetheart. You have some competition now.”

“Oh, I’m sweetheart now?” She laughed turning around to face him once again, “Not scavenger?”

“You haven’t been “scavenger” to me since you healed me on Kef Bir.” His eyes were as soft as they had been on Exegol, “Am I still a monster?”

“No,” She said almost with a laugh at the question, “not since you killed Snoke instead of me.” Rey went up on her toes and kissed Ben's cheek. “Come on let’s go inside.” 

The rest of the evening consisted of Rey and Alina making a plant-based dinner of the vegetables that the kids had grabbed while they were at the market. Ben observed both of them as they cooked from the small table that was in the kitchen. As he watched the pair cook it almost seemed like a dance that they had performed hundreds of times. He could picture them cooking meals together after a long day of training their padawans laughing together about the day’s events. It was the kind of life that Ben wished that he had when he was younger. A life that he never expected that he would actually get but now he had it and could not wait to begin his new life with them. 

After they ate dinner Ali, Milo, and Shara found themselves in the large sitting room again while Ben and Rey cleaned up after their meal. While Alina and Rey were cooking dinner Shara found her way back to the wine cellar and found a far more palatable wine than the first one. Now the three of them sat on one of the large couches nursing the sweet-tasting wine. 

“I like him,” Shara said after taking the last swig out of the bottle.

“Who?” Ali sat up slightly shifting her weight in Milo's lap.

“Your dad, silly.” Shara laughed. The wine clearly had gone to her head. 

“Oh well that’s good,” Ali wasn’t surprised though It wasn’t hard for Shara to get along with people. 

“What about you Lina?” Shara laid on her stomach kicking her feet in the air like she was a little girl, “What do you think about your dad?”

Ali sat there really thinking about the question for a few seconds. What did she think about her father? The more that Ali thought about it though the more she couldn’t find an answer to Sharas question or at least not a meaningful answer. Alina cared deeply for Ben. She nearly sacrificed her own life to ensure that she would be able to bring him back to the galaxy, so of course, she loved him and would do it all over again to ensure that he would be alive. And even though she had seen blips of Ben's life and felt his emotions through those life experiences Ali still felt like she knew nothing about it. Even though she really didn’t know anything about Ben she could tell that they were so similar in many ways. So yes she liked him but she needed to get to know him more and she couldn’t wait to get to know her father.

“I like Ben,” Ali answered plainly, “I think we have a lot of things in common but I barely know anything about him.” 

“You called him Ben and not dad. Why?” Shara sat up now crossing her legs. Drinking turned Shara into a therapist. Sometimes it was helpful but other times it made Alinas skin crawl.

“I don’t know. I just,” Ali became almost nervous and started to pick at the callused skin on her hands, “I don’t feel comfortable calling him dad just yet.” She had called him dad though moments before she had died. At that moment though she thought her time in the galaxy was over and would never get the chance to say it to him. That now wasn’t the case. Alina did have time now but she wasn’t ready to call him that and she was pretty sure he wasn’t ready to be called that either. 

“And I don’t think he’s even ready to be called dad anyway. The last thing he remembers is dying in my mom’s arms and now he has an eighteen-year-old daughter. I’m sure the last thing he expected was to be brought back from the dead from his daughter.” Ali closed her eyes, feeling the emotion growing in her voice, “It’s just been a long few days and everything that I knew before is different. Not just for me but for all of us. It's a lot to get used to.”

Shara dropped the subject after that. She was drunk but she knew when to stop asking questions. They spent the rest of the night watching a poorly made holo movie that all of them lost interest in within twenty minutes. By the end of the movie, Shara was laying on her stomach snoring louder than the movie itself.

“Maker, she's a mess,” Milo whispered not to disturb her.

“Aren’t we all?” Ali laughed quietly. She shifted her weight and turned to face him. Her long legs were now straddled around him and his arms were wrapped lightly around Ali’s waist. There was a smile on his face but there was something in his eyes that told her that something was on his mind. “What is it?”

Milo took in a shaky breath thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days but most especially in the past few hours. 

“You were dead,” he swallowed trying to hold back tears that were beginning to glisten his eyes, “you were nothing more than a pile of dead cells being cradled in his arms. Your skin was whiter than snow. I don’t think I had ever been so scared in my whole life.”

“Why were you scared?” Ali rested a hand on his cheek. A tear slid down his cheek at the sensation of her touch.

“Because a galaxy without you in it is terrifying,” he began to choke on his words, “For several minutes I thought you were gone for good. That my best friend, the love of my life was gone and there was nothing that I could do to bring you back.”

Ali could feel tears start to well in her eyes remembering everything that had happened while she was in the temple on Exegol and the events leading to her death. She didn’t particularly want to talk about it but Milo deserved to know the truth.

“I thought I was fine,” Ali began quietly, “I had survived having to battle the Knights of Ren, Snoke and his Praetorian guards, Palpatine, and Kylo Ren himself. I knew that I had a few injuries or at least I thought it was only a few.” She knew that Milo had seen her injuries once they had taken her to the ship, so he of all people knew that her injuries were nowhere near minor. “The gashes on my leg, arms, and head meant nothing to me. The taste of blood in my mouth didn’t alarm me after I had been smacked in the stomach by one of the Knights of Ren. All that mattered to me at that moment was that Ben was safe with me.”

“It wasn’t until we were back on the surface of the planet was I able to feel the severity of my injuries.” She took a deep breath trying to steady herself, “Everything became cold and I started to feel lightheaded. I felt like I was going to pass out and I felt myself falling but Ben caught me before I hit the ground.” Tears began to well in her eyes again, “The look on his face while he held me as I died in his arms was one that was so painful, like he had experienced this kind of loss before and he had nearly nineteen years ago on the same planet. But to him it was mere minutes, maybe an hour since he held my mom's own cold body. Even though I knew I was about to die I felt so at peace and safe in his arms. I wasn’t scared or upset to be dying at that moment because my task was complete. I brought back my father for my mother and that was all that mattered.” She averaged her eyes from Milos as tears began to stream her face, “The last thing I remember before I died was calling him “dad” and then everything went black. There wasn’t any pain I didn’t suffer. It was peaceful.” Ali decided to leave out the part where she met all of her dead relatives. It would have freaked Milo out and would lead to a bunch of questions that she didn’t want to get into.

“The next thing I remembered I was looking up at my mom's face but then she put me to sleep. After that, I remember waking up on the Falcon.” Milo knew everything after that point. When she lifted her head again and their eyes met again tears were streaming down his face.

“When I first saw him carrying you like that I thought he did it. I thought he killed you,” Milo choked on his words, “but then I saw the look on his face. There were still tears on his cheeks. I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew he couldn’t have done it.” Milo moved his hands from Ali’s waist and cupped her cheeks, “When they brought you back it took everything in my body not to run over and just hold you in my arms for the rest of my life.”

“And now you get to hold me for the rest of your life.” A toothy smile spread across Ali’s face. There were still tears streaming down her face but Milo didn’t care. She was the most beautiful woman in the whole galaxy even though she looked like a total disaster.

“Is that a promise?” Milo moves his hands back to Ali’s hips bringing her closer to him.

“Maybe,” Ali sighed, bringing her hands to his shoulders, “as long as you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Hmm, I guess I can live with that but what’s the worst thing that I could …” before he could even finish his sentence Ali had her lips pressed up against his. Both of them tightened their grips around each other as the kiss deepened. Milo broke the kiss for air but moved his lips to her neck.

Ali let out a moan that came out from somewhere deep within her. He cradled her head and the small of her back as placed light kissed on her neck and collarbone. They were so in the moment that they completely forgot that Shara was peacefully sleeping only a few feet away from them. It was only when they heard soft snoring mixed in with both of their erratic breathing that they remembered that she was there. They pulled away from each other with wide eyes. A soft laugh began to erupt between both of them because if Shara knew that they were making out only a few feet away she would be mortified. 

“We should probably move this somewhere else.” Ali was still laughing as she got off of Milo’s lap. 

“You think we should put her to bed or just leave her here?” Milo asked as he got off of the couch. It wouldn’t have been the first time Ali and Milo put Shara to bed after a night of drinking. Ali looked around the sitting room and saw a blanket that they had brought from the Falcon draped over one of the chairs. She grabbed the blanket and draped it over Sharas sleeping form. “Is she gonna be ok there?” He laughed a little louder than before. Milo didn’t like to admit it but he secretly cared about Shara. 

“She’ll be fine,” Ali rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face, “You know you’re really cute when you’re concerned.” 

“Oh yeah?” he smiled and bent down to kiss her again but Ali moved away from him. “What?”

“Do you want to continue this here or go somewhere a little more private?” She was already standing in the hallway with her arms crossed. 

A wide grin spread across his face and the annoyed look on Ali’s face cracked and a similar smile grew on her face. As Milo walked into the hallway he wrapped an arm around Ali's waist and legs to pick her up. 

“Milo!” Ali yelled as Milo began to carry her down the hallway. “I didn’t think that you were this strong.” She teased running a hand through his hair.

“Ha ha ha, very funny.” He rolled his eyes but kissed her cheek as he did it. They had been walking down the long hallways that turned into gardens for what seemed like hours before either of them said anything. 

“So what do you think your parents are up to?” Milo asked. Ali gave him a look of pure and utter disgust. 

“Milo Tico, you and I both know exactly what they are doing right now.” Ali gave him a pointed look, “I would prefer that we didn’t talk about it.”

“Ok,” Milo shrugged, “Is it because we’ll probably be doing something very similar at them toni...Ow!” Ali smacked his head, “What was that for!?” 

“Oh, you know.” Ali laughed. The last thing she wanted to think of was what kinds of sexual action her parents were doing right now 

Hours before when they had first arrived to Varykino the kids had decided that they would take the top floor. By the time they made it to their floor Milo had put Ali down, not because she was getting heavy or at least that was what Milo insisted on. 

They now walked to their room hand in hand. Alina led the way as Milo walked behind her watching as her curls bounced on her shoulders. Now that she had shorter hair her curls were far more bouncy than it had been in years. It reminded him of when they were little and her hair was just as unruly as she was. If someone had told him when he was young that he and Lina would be dating now he wouldn’t believe it. When they were little it seemed like that their arguing would never end. Then suddenly it had all stopped. Their feelings were shared for one another and it turned out that neither of them actually disliked one another. It was more like neither of them were smart enough to realize that they liked each other. 

Now though it was more than just liking each other. They had fallen in love which still shocked him but in the best was possible.

As Ali opened the door to their room Milo gave her hand a quick squeeze. She turned to face him with a confused look. 

“What?” She asked.

He learned down again and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then her cheeks and finally her lips. It wasn’t long before their kiss had deepened and Milo had hoisted her into his arms and was carrying her towards the bed. They both let out a soft laugh as the fell on the plush mattress.

Within a few minutes, clothes were being yanked off and thrown all over the bedroom floor. The only clothes that they were wearing were their thin undergarments that left nothing to the imagination. When they broke for air Milo and Alina both had the same hungry look on their faces. 

“Are you sure?” Milo was already out of breath and a thin layer of sweat was forming on his brow.

She kissed him again but only to distract him while she maneuvered her leg around Milo’s torso so she would be able to flip him onto his back. By the time Milo realized what was happening he was already on his back looking up at her with a shocked expression that made Ali let out a deep laugh.

“I love you,” She kissed him again but this time, less hungry, “and yes” Ali nodded her head, “I’m sure.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


It only took them a few minutes to clean up the mess that had been created by making dinner. Cleaning the kitchen went the same way as it had been when they were cleaning the rest of the house with a lot of silence and stolen glances. When they finished Rey offered that they took a walk in the gardens. Ben of course agreed and offered his arm to her. She smiled up at him and wrapped her through his.

The sun was nearly set with only a few streaks of orange and pink against the starry indigo sky. In the distant horizon lights from homes speckled the mountains. The lights from the surrounding homes and setting sun gave them enough light to admire the garden’s true beauty. Naboo truly was the most beautiful planets that either of them had been to. Ben couldn’t help but smile as he watched Rey get almost giddy as she admired the natural flower and foliage of Naboo. He was happy to know that even after all this time that she still loved nature as much as he remembered. 

They now found themselves on one of the balconies that looked over to the lake. Rey was looking up at the sky admiring the brilliant color that was nearly faded away now beginning to show the planet's constellations. While Ben on the other hand kept his eyes on Rey. She could feel his amber eyes burrowing into her. 

“What?” Rey turned her head to face him. A deep red blush grew on both of their faces. 

“Can’t I admire you?” Ben's face broke into a wide smile. 

“It’s been a long time since someone has admired me.” Rey looked back at the stars and there was still a smile on her face but Ben's smile fell. The thought of Rey having to spend the past nineteen years without anyone by her side. It wasn’t that she needed someone to take care of her but she did deserve to be loved and cherished by someone. Yes, she had Ali but that was a different kind of love. As his eyes fell upon the lake once again the plan that had been formulating in his head after Rey had mentioned that Milo had taught Alina how to swim. 

“Come on,” Ben said, taking Rey’s hand, “let’s start your swimming lessons.”

“What?” It took Rey only a fraction of a second to process what exactly he had said, “Swimming lessons? What are you going on about, Solo?” 

A deep laugh came from Ben's chest. He crouched down so he was eye level with Rey, who had a confused look on her face.

“You told me earlier that our daughter was taught how to swim by her boyfriend,” Rey knew at this point exactly where he was going with this, “but I can’t teach you, the woman that I love more than anything, how to swim?”

“I never agreed to start swimming lessons,” Rey laughed, crossing her arms around her chest.

“Well, I think it’s a skill you should learn,” in one quick move Ben wrapped an arm around Rey’s waist and lifted her onto his shoulders. “So you’re learning.”

The noise that came out of Rey’s mouth was a mix between a yell and laugh mixed. She pounded her hands against his back. “Put me down you nerfhearder!” She laughed as he took her down the stairs to the beach.

When they made it to the water’s edge Ben finally Rey back on her feet. Her face was bright red and there was a big smile on her face.

“You know I could have walked, right?” Rey laughed.

“No way you would have come down here on your own terms.” he patted Rey’s head, “Don’t forget that we are two of the same soul and I can read your thoughts.”

“Oh yeah,” Rey took a step forward, “what am I thinking right now?”

“Hmmmm,” he hummed as his face began to blush, “take your clothes off.”

Rey’s eyes went wide and her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, “What?!” She looked up at him in shock. Ben let out another deep laugh as 

“Ah um, let me rephrase that,” Ben ran a hand through his hair with a nervous expression on his face, “Take your clothes off because we’re going in the water. So breastband and underwear, yeah?” 

Rey nodded her head in agreement, “Ok but only on one condition.”

“Ok?” Ben rose and eyebrow in question.

“You have to look away while I undress,” Rey said the statement almost nonchalantly.

“But why?” he bit his lip stifling a laugh, “I’m going to have to see you in them anyway when we get in the water. So what’s the point?”

“The point is,” She paused before she answered, “you’ll make me nervous and I won’t want to go through with it. So be a good boy and turn around.”

“Ok,” Ben turned around without another protest. As Rey got undressed behind him he began to take off the thin grey shirt and black pants that Shara had given him only hours before. He could hear the fabric of Rey’s clothes rustling as she began to take them off. The bond between them made it clear to both of them how nervous they were which all together seemed ridiculous but it wasn’t at least not to them. Their relationship was still very new and there were a lot of things that both of them were about to experience for the first time together. 

“Ok,” Rey’s voice was shaking slightly from nerves, “you can turn around now.”

Ben slowly turned around and Rey just as beautiful as he always imagined her. The blue moonlight captured her beauty in all of her glory showing off all of her curves. If she hadn’t revealed her real age to him earlier he wouldn’t believe that she was nearly forty now. 

“Wow,” Ben gaped, taking in Rey's form. He took a few steps forward closing the distance between them. She looked up at him with wide eyes but looked away once there were only a few inches between them. He took his hand and placed it under her chin so he could bring her face up to him. 

“I hope you know how beautiful you are.” his voice was so gentle that it sent a shiver down Reys back.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” but Rey had thought long before she ever learned that they were connected through the force. Ben wrapped an arm around her bear waist completely closing the gap between them. He leaned down to kiss her lips again ever so gently.

“We should head into the water.” Ben took Rey’s hand into his as they began the descent into the water. The night was cool and crisp similar to the nights on Chandrila. 

As her feet hit the icy water of the lake a shiver went up Reys back. She tensed up immediately at the sensation and tried to take a few steps out of the water but Ben pulled her back in.

“Oh no, you’re not trying to get away.” He laughed tightening his grip around her hand. 

“Ben this water is freezing,” She squealed as they moved deeper and deeper into the water, “If we stay in here were going to get sick.”

“Were not going to get sick, here.” Ben wrapped an arm around Rey’s waist and hoisted her into his arms in an attempt that his body heat would warm her up. She instinctually wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. “Warm?”

Rey let out a laugh and kissed his cheek, “No but at least you tried.” 

Ben carried her out until the water was halfway up his chest. At this point in the lake, he knew that if Rey would be able to stand in the water if she needed to. 

“Ok, are you ready?” Ben asked but Rey tightened her grip around his neck. 

“No,” she wined sounding almost like a little girl, “What if I drown?” 

“There is no way in hell I’m letting you drown.” He reassured Rey by giving her a light kiss.

“Ok,” she nodded her head.

“So on the count of three you’re going to let go, right?”  _ Damn, I sound like a dad.  _ Ben thought. 

“As long as you promise you won’t swim away.”

“No, I won’t swim away.” He laughed again at how childish she sounded, “So one, two,” Ben moved his hands from supporting her thighs to where she currently had a death grip around his neck, “three.”

Rey kept her promise and let go of Ben. 

“Ok now move your arms, Rey!” Ben yelled as he took a few steps back to give her some space to move around. 

She struggled for a few seconds patting her arms around trying to find her center of balance but within no time Rey was swimming. 

“Look at me!” Rey yelled excitedly as she swam towards him.

Ben caught her in his arms and brought her into a tight hug. 

“Im so proud of you.” He laughed and kissed her forehead, “Was it as bad as you thought it was?”

“No,” Rey rolled her eyes, “it was kind of fun.”

They swam around the lake for a few minutes splashing at each other and paused every once in a while to steal a kiss or two. It was a perfect night and neither of them could think of anything that would ruin it. After some time Ben could tell that Rey was getting tired. He swam to her and scooped her in his arms once again to take her out of the frigid water. Ben set her back onto her feet once they had made it to the shoreline. They were about to head back in but Rey found a towel on the beach that the kids left a few hours prior when they were swimming, she opened it up placing it on the sand and sat on it. Ben gave her a confused look but sat next to her. 

“I thought you would be cold and wanted to head inside,” Ben mentioned as Rey leaned her head on his shoulders.

“I did but I wanted to listen to the sound of the waves for a few more minutes.”

The couple sat like that for a few minutes. Rey’s head on Ben’s shoulder and his arm around her waist. Neither said anything for a long time. They just sat there constantly listening to the waves and wildlife of Naboo until Rey asked a question that Ben wasn’t expecting at all.

“Why did you do it?” 

“Do what?” Ben looked at her slightly confused.

She swallowed trying to find her words. When her hazel eyes met his soft brown ones they instantly began to brim with tears. The question had been brewing in her mind for the past nineteen years and now finally she would be able to get a proper answer.

“Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?” 

As the words rolled off of Rey’s tongue Ben could feel his muscles tighten. It was a question that he was dreading to have to answer but a part of him already had the answer to it. 

“It wasn’t something that I had to think about, Rey, I had to bring you back.” Ben's voice deepened in emotion, “Everything happened so fast.” He laughed nervously thinking about how fast everything had happened. One minute he was standing on the wreckage of the Death Star and the next he was running through the temple on Exegol. Rey on the other hand deserved the whole story of the events that happened after she left the wreckage.

“After you left the wreckage of the Death Star I thought all hope was lost and I was stuck there but then the ghost of my father came to me and basically told me to get my head out of my ass and fight for those that meant something for me.”

A small smile broke across Rey’s face at the thought of Han coming to visit Ben knowing that they had made some sort of peace between each other.

“Then before I knew it I was hotwiring a TIE-Fighter and on my way to Exegol coming to help you in any way that you needed.” Tears began to brim in his eyes. “My heart was pounding the whole time as I ran across the surface of the planet and then when I jumped down into the temple.” Rey laughed because she always wondered how he got down to the temple. “I was so worried that something was going to happen to you or something had already happened to you. Then the force brought us together one last time,” a smile crept on his face thinking about how happy he was to see Rey at that moment, “I never felt so close to someone before in my whole life.”

“It felt like home,” Rey answered with a tear rolling down her cheek.

“It did feel like home.” He confirmed wrapping a tight arm around her shoulder, “Then we faced Palpatine and he threw me down that pit. The next thing I remembered I was laying on my back with several sharp rocks stabbing into me.” A shiver went down his back at the thought.

“I tried so hard to feel you through the force but I couldn’t. I feared the worst.” Tears began to roll down his cheeks at what he experienced next, “With all of the strength that I had left in me I climbed out of the pit. When I was finally out, I saw that my fears were correct and I couldn’t feel you because you were dead.” He took in a shaky breath trying to compose himself, “I tried to stand but I could only crawl. When I reached you, I took your body into my arms and held you for a few seconds. I knew that if I was able to bring you back there wouldn’t be any time for anything after.”

“When I felt your pulse and you grabbed my hand I thought I would have died right then and there.” He gave Rey a teary smile, “No one had ever looked at me that way before the way that you did.” Ben would never forget how Rey’s eyes had lit up when she saw Ben. It was like he was her whole world. “You called me by my name, my real name, and it was the most incredible sounding thing I had ever heard.”

“I half expected you to just leave me there to die. That was what I deserved, wasn’t it? I deserved to die right then and there alone. You should have told me how horrible I was and that I was nothing more than a monster. But you didn’t.” His lip quivered, “Instead you kissed and for the first time in thirty years I felt so loved. So wanted. I thought maybe I was wrong that I was going to die. Maybe I was going to live and we could have had a life together but the force is cruel and took me away from you.”

“Everything is a little fuzzy after the kiss,” Ben wiped away his tears, “ but the last thing that I remembered was your hand in mine. Everything was dark for a little bit. I felt like I was floating. But then my eyes opened and I was in the World Between Worlds. I think you know everything after that though?”

Rey nodded know that not long after Alina had found him and brought him back to her. 

“But why did you do it,” tears continued to stream Rey’s cheeks. “You could have gotten away scot-free. You could have gone somewhere safe. All of them thought that you were dead anyway. I just…” Ben stopped her before she could say another word. 

“You had a life,” he started with taking his hands into hers, “You had people that loved you and would have done anything and everything in their power to make sure that you were alive. I, on the other hand, had no one. No one to love me. No one to take care of me. No one to miss that I was gone or be happy that I was alive. Deciding to bring you back instead of having to live a life knowing that I could have done so was such an easy decision. It wasn’t something that I had to sit there and think about. I was a dead man walking anyway. If your friends found me they would have killed me instantly. The galaxy needed you, Rey, your friends needed you.”

“I needed you though,” Rey sobbed. She could barely even see anymore her eyes were so clouded in tears. “Losing you was as if my worst nightmares were coming true. A piece of my soul left me the day that you died. I had my friends but I didn’t have the one person that truly understood me. That truly loved me and for nineteen years I had to live with the burden that I got to live and you didn’t. Then for eighteen years, I had to look into the eyes of our little girl and think about how much you would have loved her if you ever got the chance to meet her. How much she reminded me of you. For years I would stay up at night and cry about how much I wanted, no needed you in my life. How much I wanted to tell you that I love you and that I was so sorry for taking your life...” 

Rey broke down at that moment collapsing into bens arms. Releasing all of the pain and anger that she had bottled up for nineteen years felt like losing the heaviest weight off of her shoulders. Ben cradled her as she continued to sob and shiver in his arms. He too was crying now knowing the true tole of his death took on her. 

“There were some days where I thought I was going to be ok,” Rey looked up at Ben. She broke the silence after she had calmed down. There were still tears streaming down her face but she had calmed down enough to speak. “Then something would remind me of you or Ali would do something that I thought you should have been there to see. I hoped at some point that the pain of losing you would go away but it never did.”

“Now you’ll never have to feel that pain again.” He gently kissed her forehead. 

“I love you,” Rey’s voice was barely even a whisper. Her eyes were back on him again and she cupped his cheek. Ben would never get used to hearing Rey say that she loved him. “I love you and I’m never not saying it again.”

“I love you too,” a single tear streamed down his face, “more than anything.”

At that moment Rey kissed him as she had all those years ago on Exegol but this kiss was far more hungry. Ben picked Rey up off of the ground to cradle her in his arms as the kiss deepened. When they broke for air they were both panting in exhaustion but there was a fire in their eyes. As their lips crashed together again, Rey wrapped her legs around his waist and instinctually moved his from her waist to Rey’s butt. 

“Ben,” Rey wined. Her hands were matted in his hair as he kissed her neck. “we should take this inside.”

In one quick move, Ben was on his feet heading toward the home. A part of him contemplated if they should clean up their clothes but that would have to wait for the morning. They continued kissing once they were inside. Neither of them had a care in the world. The only thing that mattered to Ben and Rey at that moment was one another. 

That was until soft-voices could be heard rounding the corner of the hallway. 

Rey pulled away from Ben's lips quickly. Both of them had wide eyes as they processed what was happening.

“Hide!” Rey whispered with urgency. 

With Rey still in his arms, Ben hid them behind the large floor length curtain that covered the windows.

“So what do you think your parents are up to?” They heard Milo asked. Rey buried her face into Ben's neck trying to stifle a laugh and could feel as Ben smiled into her hair. They both knew if Milo and Alina could see them now, only dressed in their underwear, they would be mortified. 

“Milo Tico, you and I both know exactly what they are doing right now. I would prefer that we didn’t talk about it.” They could hear the annoyance in their daughter’s voice and were practically vibrating as they tried not to laugh at her response.

Ben held Rey tighter to his body as their footsteps passed by them and then went down another hallway.

“Do you think they saw us?” Rey asked as Ben brought them out from behind the curtain.

“I don’t think so,” Ben whispered and began to laugh lightly at what they just experienced. “What do you think they would have done if they saw us like this?” He glanced down at their appearance, Rey’s legs tightly wrapped around Ben's waist, and neither of them in proper clothes.

“They would probably vomit,” She laughed, “and probably wouldn’t speak to either of us again.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t see us then.” He kissed Rey again on the lips. She smiled into the kiss wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. 

Ben carried Rey to the bedroom that they had chosen for themselves a few hours ago. The room was large with a canopy bed that seemed like something from a fairytale. The curtains blew in the cool night breeze of the open windows. 

He laid Rey gently onto the bed and untangled her limbs from around his body. Her skin was flushed and hair was splayed like a fan over the pillow. She looked beautiful in every way possible. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that he would ever get to be with Rey this way.

Ben sat on the bed and dipped his head to kiss Rey the softest way possible. He moved from her lips to her neck, then to the whole length of her body. She moaned in pleasure as he moved down her body with his lips and hands. Setting all of her neverending on fire.

They fell into a pattern of taking turns of worshiping each other’s bodies and allowing them to be able to know what made one another tick. Once again they were panting with swollen lips as the broke for air knowing what would happen next. Rey sat up abruptly, her fingers fumbling attempting to relieve herself of her breastband but Ben pushed her hands away as if to stop her.

“What?” Rey demanded in an angry voice, “I have been waiting for this,” she motioned between the two of them, “for nineteen kriffing years. Now,” Ben let out a soft laugh as Rey let out a breath to calm herself down, “either you take off me breastband or..” 

He silenced Rey by planting a kiss on her lips and with one of his large hands gripped her breastband and with one quick tug it began to unravel. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Ben spoke in a deep whisper, “I’ll be making up for all of the time that you missed out on for nineteen years.”

Rey opened her mouth to protest but met with another passionate kiss. At that moment she knew wholeheartedly that nothing would ever bring them apart again. Not the force. Not her friends. Not each other. And most importantly not through death. 

They were one and would always be. No matter what got in their way.


	21. The Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! This chapter is long and that seems to be the theme lately. In my doc, it was 26 pages. Like... I did not intend for it to be that long but I literally could not stop writing.   
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and are staying happy and healthy. Comments are greatly appreciated and bring me joy!  
> Lots of Love!  
> Em <3

Alina woke up to the feeling of soft fingers tracing the freckles and beauty marks on her back. She smiled into her pillow thinking about the euphoria that was last night and early morning. A part of Alina would have thought that it was all a dream if it wasn’t for the dull pain that existed between her legs. 

“Good morning,” Milo whispered as he began placing delicate kisses on her shoulders.

“Morning,” Ali laughed as she turned onto her back. A lazy smile was spread across both of their faces. He propped himself on his forearm and gently cupped her cheek. There was so much love in his eyes that it made Ali’s heart nearly burst. 

“How did you sleep?” He asked, placing a soft kiss between her brows.

“Good,” she ran her fingers through his thick curls, “How about you?”

“Good,” Milo placed a soft kiss on Alina’s lips, “How do you feel though?”

Milo was the same lover in bed as he was in real life. He was gentle and soft, but also forceful. He made sure before he did anything that he would ask her if it was okay and constantly was making sure that she was comfortable. It was almost annoying, but that was how her Milo was, and she wouldn’t want him any other way. 

Ali lifted herself slightly off of the bed to capture Milo's lips. He wrapped his arm around her back to prop her up and deepen the kiss and before their hands were all over each other once again. There was no need to take clothes off because they didn’t fall asleep with any on. They were far too tired to even move out of the bed let alone try and find their clothes scattered around the room. 

“So good?” Milo laughed, pulling away for air.

“Duh,” Ali rolled her eyes, but had the biggest smile on her face. She took her legs and wrapped them around his waist. A few seconds later Milo rolled over onto his back allowing Ali to be on top.

She sat up almost abruptly to catch her breath. The sheet that was around her shoulders fell and landed around her hips. Milo thought that she looked beautiful in the pale moonlight from last night, but in the early daylight, she looked like a piece of art. Her dark curls fell just over her shoulders and her brown eyes almost looked gold in the bright sunlight. There were even creases in her skin from the sheets but nonetheless, she was stunning.

“You’re beautiful,” Milo was breathless looking up at his girlfriend's form. He ran a hand up her side, raking over her ribs. A chill ran through her spine and threw her head back in response.

“I love you,” she had a broad smile on her face. Milo opened his mouth to respond, but Ali already had her mouth on his before he could even make a noise. Neither of them thought that anything could bring them out of this moment. That was until the door to the bedroom was opened.

“Stars!” Shara yelled, and just as fast as she came into the room, she left.

Alina quickly brought herself out of kissing Milo and spun her torso around just to see the tail end of her friend vacating the room.

“Shara, wait!!” Ali yelled. She quietly dismounted Milo. “Where are my clothes?” Ali practically yelled once her feet hit the floor.

“I don’t know,” Milo sat up, there was annoyance in his voice, “she'll be fine babe, come…what are you doing?!?”

Before Milo knew it Ali had grabbed the blanket that was covering him and took it off of the bed to cover herself, then she was out the door chasing after her friend.

When Ali ran into the hallway she could hear hysterical laughter coming from down the hall. She went chasing after Shara, running down the hallway and down two flights of stairs.

“Shara, wait!” Ali now too was laughing when she finally caught up with her friend.

Shara was still wearing the clothes that she had fallen asleep in the night before, her thick curls were thrown haphazardly into a large bun on the top of her head. Tears were streaming down her face from laughing so hard and in her hands were two steaming mugs of caf.

“Why are you running after me?!” Shara was still laughing, “Don't you have someone else to attend to?”

“Yeah I do,” Ali rolled her dark eyes, for real this time, as she adjusted the blanket that was covering her body, “but I couldn’t let you run away laughing like an idiot. What if my parents saw you?”

“Lina, honey, baby, sweetie, what if your parents saw you?” Shara pointed a finger at her friend. Alina's hair was a curly mess sticking up in every direction possible, her lips were still swollen from kissing, and the purple splotch below her collarbone left little to no imagination of the events that transpired last night. 

“So, how was it?” Ali’s face instantly began to blush thinking about what had happened last night.

“Ummm, it was fine,” she ran a hand through her hair to try and tame it.

“Yeah, okay, fine my ass,” Shara laughed, “you have the post-sex glow that girls dream of.”

“Shhhh,” Ali hushed, “keep your voice down.”

“Oh what? You think that your parents didn’t do it last night?” Shara took a sip of her caf.

“I really don’t want to know what happened last night between them.” Ali closed her eyes as if to block out the sight of the images playing in her mind.

“But Al really, how was it?” Shara took a step closer to close the distance between them so she could whisper, but still be heard by her friend. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but like, I’m dying to know.” Which, in short, meant, tell me every single detail.

“It was good.” Ali gave a sheepish smile, but Shara gave her another annoyed look and Alina finally broke under pressure, “Fine! It was good, like really, really good.”

“Ooooooh?” Shara gave a devilish grin, “Tell me more. I always knew there was something about our dear Milo that he was keeping hidden from us.”

“Kriff, Shara,” Ali practically choked on a laugh. The girls continued their hushed conversation about the events that transpired the night before. 

Both of them were far too enthralled in conversation to notice that Ben was making his way down the hallway. 

At this point, their whispers had turned into their normal speaking voice, and Ben could clearly hear every single word that the girls were saying to one another. His eyes grew wide as he came within earshot.

Shara was the first to spot him, but by the time she did, it was too late. She quickly placed a hand over Alina’s mouth to shut her up. 

“What the hell?” Ali yelled, taking Shara’s hand off of her mouth.

Before Shara could open her mouth to tell Ali to shut up, Ben had paused in front of them. As he got a good look at his daughter he could see that she was only wearing a sheet that left very little to the imagination and averted his eyes quickly. He looked both disappointed and ashamed all at the same time.

“Good morning,” both girls said in unison with a nervous laugh.

“Ladies,” he nodded his head and continued down the hallway. The girls didn’t say anything until he had rounded the corner. Shara instantly began to laugh and Ali placed her head into her hands. 

“I want to die,” Ali whined

“Awww your first uncomfortable interaction with your dad, how does it feel?” Shara smiled, poking fun at her friend.

“It was awful,” Ali’s face was still covered but Shara could see that she was beginning to laugh, “Are they always this awful?”

“No, he’ll get used to your bullshit,” Shara reassured, “but the looks of disappointing looks will always feel the same.”

Ali rolled her eyes, “Wonderful,”

“Which reminds me,” Shara handed Ali one of the cups of caf, “This is for you.”

“Oh, Ummm, thanks,” she took the cup slightly confused, “Where did you get it?”

“Your dad found me on the couch. He woke me up, handed me the cup of caf, and said  _ I have a feeling that you’re going to need this _ .” Shara gave her best impression of Ben's voice, “and then I told him that you would want one too.”

“Oh,” Ali made an O shape with her mouth. “This is so weird.” 

“What? That you are standing here in only a blanket because you and our childhood best friend had a blissful night of lovemaking or that you brought your dad back from the dead and now he’s making us caf?” Shara sighed.

“All of it,” Alina laughed, “it’s so weird to be here. It’s so weird to think that a few days ago that I literally knew nothing about my father and now he’s here making us caf.” Shara could tell that her friend was getting upset so she put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” her voice was soft, “I know this is a lot, but you’ll get through it. We all will. You should talk to him. I feel like that might make it better or at least start to make things better.”

“About what?” Ali sighed, “What do you say to a man that you thought was dead for the past nineteen years?”

“Anything? Everything? You’re a smart girl, Lina, I know you’ll figure out something, but he deserves to get to know his daughter and you deserve to get to know your dad.” Shara gave Ali a sad smile. 

She was right though. The only way that the awkwardness would go away would be if they got to know each other. Shara wasn’t the wisest of friends and was definitely not the most responsible, but she did have experience with having a father.

“Okay,” Ali nodded her head in agreement, “Thanks, Shara.”

“You’re welcome, Lina, but you should probably get changed though.” She laughed lightly, “I don’t think you should have a heart-to-heart with your new dad dressed like this.”

* * *

When Ben walked into the bedroom, Rey was still fast asleep. Just the top of her head and her long brown hair were poking out of the covers. He walked as quietly as he could across the floor, trying not to make a noise. 

As soon as Ben began to climb into bed next to her and Rey began to climb on top of him. He let out a deep laugh as she nuzzled her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Ben still couldn’t believe that this was his life now. The woman that he loved more than anything was tightly in his arms. Rey’s eyes were still closed, trying to block out the sun, her long hair was a tangled mess, and there was a little bit of drool dried on her face. She was still beautiful nonetheless. 

“When did you get your clothes back?” Rey's voice was muffled in Ben's shirt.

“Not long,” he laughed, “I got both of our clothes and made caf.”

Ben had been up for a few hours now. Just as the first beams of sunlight began to filter through the white curtains. Rey was practically laying on top of him when he woke up. Her cheek was pressed against his sternum and her arms were lazily thrown across his shoulders. He had never seen anyone look so peaceful in his life. Ben was able to make it out of the bed, but only by slowly moving Rey off of his chest and back onto the bed. 

His briefs were flung clear across the room making Ben laugh softly. He put them on and headed out of the room down the many hallways and staircases out of the house down to the sandy beach below. Their clothes were in the same spot that they had been placed the night before. Ben was able to shake out all of the sand before getting dressed and grabbing Rey’s abandoned clothes. When he got back inside he went to the kitchen and made a pot of caf. The kids had bought it yesterday, so he decided to make some. It had been years since he had caf that wasn’t made from a powder or in a chewable form.

Once the caf was finished brewing, Ben took two hot mugs of it. He began his trek back to where Rey was peaceful sleeping. But when he passed by the large sitting room that the kids had decided to take over he found, Shara sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position. Ben could sense that the girl would probably need the cup of caf more than he did. Besides, she was at least nice to him rather than the boy.

He briskly walked over to the couch and nudged the young girl's arm. “Hey kid, get up,”

Shara abruptly got up by sitting straight up and blinking her eyes wildly, but instantly placed her hand on her forehead feeling the discomfort of a splitting headache.

“You’re going to need this,” Ben held the mug out for her.

“Thanks,” she moaned, taking the peace offering. He began to leave but Shara stopped him, “Wait, Alina is going to want some too.”

Ben looked down at the mug in his hand and sighed. I _ guess I can just grab another one,  _ he thought and handed the second mug of caf. As he left the room, Ben could hear Shara shuffling around and leaving the room not long after he did. 

Now Ben was walking again with two new mugs of caf with Rey’s clothes flung over his shoulder. He was nearly to their room when he saw Alina and Shara speaking in the hallway. Alina had her back towards him. He noticed that she was covered in only a blanket and didn’t think anything of it until he began to hear what exactly they were talking about. 

The last thing Ben thought he would hear first thing in the morning was all about his newly found daughter’s sex-life. His eyes grew wide as Alina went into great detail discussing the events that had transpired between her and her boyfriend. Shara was the first to notice him and as soon as she saw him her eyes went wide, seeing the fear in her eyes. She acted quickly trying to get Alina to stop talking, but it was too late. 

“None of the kids saw you only in your brief right?” Rey looked up at him with wide eyes.

“No, none of the kids saw me, but…” Ben grimaced remembering what he had just experienced in the hallways between Shara and Alina.

“But what?” Rey asked looking up at him slightly confused, “What happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it?” Ben stiffened wrapping his arms around her.

“Ben Solo, what happened?” She sat up so she was looking directly into his eyes.

“Well,” he laughed nervously, “I saw our daughter in the hallway talking to her friend about her sex life, and she was only dressed in a bedsheet.”

It took Rey to process exactly what Ben said to her, but within a few seconds, she was in a fit of laughter. She knew that he would be forever scarred from the experience because she knew that she would be. 

“Oh no,” she was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“So umm did you, did you know that they were...” he grimaced as he tried to find the words to finish the question. 

“That they were having sex?” Rey raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t know that they were, but I’m also not shocked that they are. Besides, they are both adults. They can make their own decisions.”

“Yeah but,” Ben was somewhat expecting her to react differently. Shouldn’t she be acting differently? Their daughter was having sex and they were just now learning about it. “how are you so calm about this?”

“Should I not be calm?” she almost laughed as she sat up in his lap.

“I… I really don’t know,” he sighed, “but my mind has been racing ever since.”

A small, sad smile began to form on Rey’s lips. She knew exactly what he was feeling right now. She was sure that a part of him thought that he would be able to have time with his daughter but she was already an adult. His little girl was all grown up and he didn’t even get a chance to watch grow up. He didn’t get a chance to watch her become the incredible young woman that she is today. 

“I’ve known for a while now that Alina isn’t a little girl anymore,” She pushed a piece of her unkempt hair out of her face, “ and I guess I’m calm because of it. If anything the past few days has taught me is that our daughter is more than capable of making her own decisions. So if she wants to have sex with her boyfriend then she can do so. I mean she practically died to bring you back to like so I think she gets a free pass on this one.” They both couldn’t help but laugh. 

Ben knew that the moment that he met Alina that she was an adult. He knew that she was far from a child, but there was still a part of him that wished that she wasn’t. 

“I guess this whole being a dad thing is just going to take me a while to get used to.” Ben sighed.

“I could talk to her if you want me to? I could tell her to lay off the sex,” Rey tried her hardest not to crack up again but she couldn’t help herself, “but that might lead to some questions on what happened between us, and I don’t want to have that conversation.”

“No, I don’t think you have to do that.” he kissed her forehead.

“Or you could always talk to her.” Ben’s eyes went wide but Rey was quick to finish what she wanted to say, “Definitely not about her sex life, but about her and about you. Alina has waited her whole life to meet her dad. I know she would love to get to know you.”

“And I want nothing more than to get to know her,” he sighed as Rey rested her head against his shoulder, “but what if she hates me because of everything that I’ve done.”

“Alina won’t hate you,” Rey sighed, bringing her arms around his shoulders, “besides she knows mostly everything about your past anyway, and I doubt that she would have died to bring you back if she hated you.” She could feel him tense up about hearing that Alina already knew a great deal about his dark past. “I’ve raised our daughter to be tough, yet gentle. Smart and also quick-witted. Alina is a strong, independent woman who is capable of making her own decisions. No thanks to you.”

Ben knew that she was teasing, but it hurt nonetheless.”You know that I would have been there for her If I could have been. I would have been there for both of you.”

“I know,” she smiled up at him, “I know that you would have been, and will be a good father to our daughter.” 

“You think so?” Ben asked almost with a laugh.

“I know so,” Reason by giving him a soft kiss on the lips or at least that was how it started. She was still very much naked and when Ben began to ever so slowly slide his hand from Rey’s hip to her cheek a shiver began to go down her spine. Rey knew deep down that if the kiss deepened there was no way she would have the will to stop herself from taking things further. “I should probably get dressed.” She pulled away quickly gasping for air. 

“Okay,” Ben cleared his throat, “I left your clothes over on the windowsill.” He pointed a finger to where he had laid them down only moments before. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before getting off the bed.

“I guess I should also comm my friends,” Rey’s voice was quiet as she put on her tunic, “I’m sure they're worried about the kids, Ali especially, and…” she paused trying to find the words, but Ben finished what she was about to say.

“And tell them that the man that they hate more than anything is back from the dead?” Ben was sitting at the edge of the bed now. There was sorrow in his voice. He knew this moment was coming. The moment when he would have to face Rey’s friends and he knew more than anything that it would not be a happy reunion.

“Hey,” Rey walked over and took both of his large hands into hers, “they have known about us for the past nineteen years. They weren’t happy then, but they eventually came around.”

“Nineteen years ago they also thought I was a dead man,” he laughed slightly, “now I’m alive. I have to face them, and the consequences to my actions.”

“My friends will not touch you.” She moved her hands to cup his cheeks, “, and I will make sure of that. They will eventually forgive you. It might take some time. Who knows maybe you guys will like each other and be friends.”

Ben began to laugh. The thought of all of them becoming friends, the people who hated him most in the galaxy, seemed completely comical to him. Tolerate each other? Sure. Friendship? Most definitely not. 

“Let’s just worry about not killing each other first. Okay, sweetheart?” He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“It could happen,” Rey laughed, “I mean, we were enemies, and now look at us.”

“I think our situation is a little different, Rey.” He smiled and took her hands off of his face.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love it when you say my name, Ben?” She said it, in an ever-so-sweet voice that on any normal day would make him want to rip her clothes off once and have his way with her once again, but he knew exactly what she was doing.

“I love how you say my name too, but stop stalling and just get it over with.” He grabbed her comm that was sitting on the nightstand and placed it into her hands. 

“Fine,” she sighed, rolling the device in her hands. Rey began to put Finn's code in but hesitated a few seconds before she hit the button to send it. She looked up at Ben, who gave her a reassuring look. Besides, she was the one that assured him that everything would be okay. “Here goes nothing.”

It took only a few seconds before there was a frantic voice on the other side answering.

“Rey?” Finn’s voice sounded breathless over the commlink, “Is that you? Are you okay? Are the kids? How’s Alina? Is she okay? Rose, Poe, and I were worried that something horrible had happened. We were about to start looking for all of you.”

“Yes, it’s me,” She smiled up at Ben, “The kids are fine. Alina is…” Rey looked back to Ben seeing the same eyes that belonged to their daughter, “she’s perfect. And we are all okay.”

“Good,” her friend sighed into his comm. There was a pause for a few seconds, and Rey knew exactly why Finn was doing it because he was trying to find the words to ask his next question; “So, umm, did she… did she do it?”

Rey took a few seconds to answer Finn’s question. She took Ben’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, that no matter what he said right now didn’t mean anything to her. All that mattered right now was Ben and that he was okay.

“Yes, Alina did it. She brought him back.”

“Oh okay,” She could sense that Finn was trying to take it all in, “So, what now?”

“We’re on Naboo, I’ll send you the coordinates.” She got off of the bed and walked towards the window, “It should only take you guys two hours to get here.”

“Okay,” his voice perked up a little bit, “I’ll go find Rose, comm Poe, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Alright,” Rey nodded her head towards Ben, “So, I’ll see you in about two hours, and then we'll go from there?”

“Yeah, we’ll be there as soon as we can.” Finn responded, “See you soon.” And with that, the commlink on the other end went silent. 

“Well, that went better than I thought it was going to go.” Ben walked over to Rey who had a blank expression on her face.

“He was calmer than I thought he was going to be,” Rey agreed with him, but was Finn maybe too calm? “We should probably find the kids and tell them that they are coming.”

Ben offered his arm to her and she took it with a smile and kissed his cheek. Rey was thankful that at least they could have these soft moments before the storm.

* * *

After her conversation with Shara in the hallway, Ali went back to her and Milo's room. When she got there Milo was nowhere to be found, but Ali could hear the turbo shower running in the fresher. She began to look for her clothes, but Milo had already collected all of them and put them on the bed, neatly folded.

Alina got dressed quickly but noticed that her dice necklace was missing. The last time she saw it was on Exegol and she feared the worst. She brushed her fingers through her hair to try and tame it. The light humidity in the air made her curls even more bouncy than they already were. Once she was dressed, Ali knocked on the door loud enough to get Milo’s attention.

“Hey babe, I’m meeting Shara in the kitchen. So when you’re done just come meet us there. Okay? Oh, and have you seen my dice necklace anywhere? I can’t find it, and I’m afraid that I lost it on Exegol.” She heard some muffled yelling coming from the other side that sounded like he understood her. 

When Ali got to the kitchen she found Shara with her head resting on the table. She had a glass of water next to her and her caf was practically untouched. Clearly, she was feeling the effects of her hangover. 

“How are you feeling, kiddo?” Ali ran a hand through her friends' unkempt curls. Shara lifted her head with an annoyed look on her face.

“Awful,” she buried her head back on the table, “I’m never drinking again.”

“You always say that,” Ali laughed taking a seat next to her, “but we all know that you’ll be back at it in a day or two.”

“Where’s your boy at?” Shara asked to change the subject. She turned her face so she was looking at Ali again. “Shouldn’t he be down here yelling at me about this morning?”

“Oh don’t worry, he’ll be down here in a little bit.” Ali laughed, “Milo’s in the shower.”

“Getting the smell of sex and regret off of him?” Shara laughed. Ali rolled her eyes at the response, she was about to scold her friend but was stopped when Milo walked into the room.

“I didn’t smell like regret, definitely sex but not regret,” Milo said with annoyance as he walked into the room. He moved to sit across from Ali, “but you definitely smell like regret.” 

“Hey,” Shara turned her head to scold him, “shut up.” and smacked his arm.

“Ow,” he whined, “Also didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock before coming into a room?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think I had to worry about you two doing it this morning.” Shara gagged dramatically, “I’ll make sure to knock on every door I see from now on.”

Outside in the hallway, they could hear laughing coming from Rey and Ben. It felt strange for Ali to hear her mom laugh as joyfully as she was now. It wasn’t like her mom never laughed before because she did but never as effortlessly and happily as she was now. All of them seemed to perk up at the noise. Ali turned her torso so she was able to face the doorway, Milo crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, and Shara propped herself up on her elbows with her chin rested on her hands. They all had a small smile on their faces as the couple came into the kitchen. 

“Hi,” Rey said almost sheepishly. Her face was bright red from laughing. She looked so youthful with her hand linked with the love of her life. She looked happy. She looked like her true self.

“Hi,” all three of them said in unison. 

“So what was so funny,” Ali asked with a glint in her eyes.

“Oh umm,” Rey looked between Alina and Ben. She began to blush even more, “It was nothing.”

“So, it was something sexual then?” Shara began to laugh but was instantly silenced by Ali smacking her arm, “Ow, why are you so violent today?”

“Shut up and drink your water.” Alina pushed the glass of water towards her friend.

“So I have something to tell you guys.” Rey changed the subject by moving to the chair opposite of Shara while Ben stayed resting his body on the doorway.

“Oh no, who died?” Milo laughed lightly.

“No one died,” Rey shook her head, “but I did comm your parents.”

“Oh okay, so we’re dead.” Shara and Milo said in unison. 

“Noooo,” Rey sighed with a laugh, “they’re going to be here in two hours though.”

“So how mad are they?” Shara asked nervously. Her father was both very protective of her and very lenient of her. Poe didn’t want her to get herself killed but also wanted her to live her life. Shara was good at getting her way because she was extremely sneaky at what she did and a wonderful liar. It would often shock Ali and Milo at how truly good she was at her craft. She rarely ever got caught and this was one of those instances where she got caught doing something reckless. 

“Well, I only talked to Finn and he was surprisingly calm,” Rey glanced up at Ben. It really did surprise her how calm her friend had been when she told him that Ben was back. “Rose and Poe on the other hand might be a different story.”

“My mom will be fine eventually, but your dad is probably a different story.” Milo pointed to Shara.

The younger girl groaned and rested her head back on the table.

“Looks like you better start sobering up, Shar.” Ali laughed pushing the glass of water closer to her.

“Do you think if I cry when I see my dad for the first time he’ll get angrier or less angry?” Shara lifted her head and took a sip of water, “Also, do they know that he’s alive?”

They all looked at Ben knowing that he was the main reason that the parents were coming here and not just going back home to Chandrila. 

“Yes,” Ben nodded his head, “they know that I’m alive.”

“Oh well, then Milo and I have nothing to worry about then.” Shara got up from her seat and patted Ali on the back and looked between father and daughter. “You’re the two that are gonna get an ear full.”

Before any of them could say anything Shara was out of the door and down the hallway. She wasn’t entirely wrong though. Yes, her aunt and uncles would be mad at their children for leaving on a dangerous mission. Most importantly though they would be more concerned about the girl that risked her life to bring back her father and the man she brought back who was once their greatest enemy.

* * *

Two hours had now quickly passed and soon the rest of the parents would be landing on Naboo. Alina, Milo, Shara, and Ben were all in the large sitting room that was near the front of the home. Rey was off getting a shower and finishing getting the rooms ready for when everyone else got there, so Ben decided to tag along with the kids. Ben didn’t say much though. He mostly kept to himself as he leafed through the ancient texts that Alina had offered for him to read but barely looked at it because he was too entertained with the kids.

They went on and on about everything and anything that could come to mind. Probably to just get each other’s minds off of what was about to transpire. Shara was about to start telling a story about the first time Alina let her fly the Falcon for the first time when the sound of a ship approaching the house could be heard outside. All of a sudden the laughing and goofing around stopped instantly and all of their attention was brought to the windows.

Simultaneously all three of the kids jumped over the back of the couch and moved to the view of the beach. They watched as Finn and Rose’s ship landed next to the Falcon on the beach.

“We should probably meet them right?” Ali asked as she peered out of the window.

“Yeah,” Milo agreed. He took her hand and gave it a supporting squeeze. Milo knew that she was nervous about how his parents and uncle were going to react to what had happened to her, but she was terrified of how they were going to react to her father being alive again. 

“I'm not ready for this.” Shara grimaced, “one hundred percent not ready for my dad to make me feel like garbage about not telling him what we were doing.” 

“Oh come on,” Alina wrapped an arm around Sharas shoulders, “as you said I’m the one they are going to yell at.”

When Ali turned around Ben was on his feet holding the ancient text in his hand with an almost nervous expression on his face. Alina hoped that he knew that she was happy that she was about to get the galaxy's biggest talking to because she brought him back to life. 

“I’ll go look for your mom and let her know that they are here,” Ben set the book on the small table in front of the couch.

“Okay, yeah,” his daughter said in agreement, “you go find her and well bring them here.”

Ben nodded his head and left the room.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.” Shara began to walk towards the doorway, “Have you talked to him yet?”

“No, I haven’t had the time.” Ali sighed as she and Milo began to exit the room, “I just don’t know what to say to him, or how to even talk to him.” 

“Has he tried to talk to you at all?” Milo asked.

“He hasn’t, but I can tell he wants to.” and Ali did want him to want to talk to her. She wanted nothing more than to talk to him, but it didn’t feel like the right time. It would be best if he was the one to approach her first. 

* * *

Ben found Rey in their shared bedroom sitting on the window sill that looked over the lake. She had a serious expression on her face as she looked out the window clutching a black piece of fabric but as soon as she felt his presence she instantly turned to face him. Her face lit up in a bright smile once she saw him as if she were seeing him again for the first time but then fell knowing what he came to tell her.

“They're here, aren’t they?” She asked with a sigh.

“Yes,” he nodded as he began to walk towards Rey, “The kids went to go meet them and get them settled before they meet…. well, me.” Ben wore a crooked smile on his face. She could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood, but she could see right through it.

Rey nodded and began to fold the fabric in her hands. As Ben looked closer he noticed that there was something oddly familiar about it.

“Is that my shirt?” He asked, realizing that it was his regulation black undershirt that was under the thick tunic that he once wore. 

“Yeah,” Rey laughed softly as she began to get off of the windowsill. “I took it after that day and wore it every night when I went to bed, and when I had Alina. It was a security blanket for me for years when I had rough days and days that I missed you. I still used it up until when you came back. I thought once you were back it would have disappeared because now its owner was back, but when I was going through my bag it was still there.”

“Did you save anything else of mine?” He met her next to the bed as she placed it back into the bag. 

“Of course,” Rey looked up at him with her soft hazel eyes, “I had nothing else of yours to remember you so I kept everything. Your trousers, your boots, and,” she opened one of the pockets and pulled out a gold chain with his father’s lucky gold dice attached to it. The same necklace that Alina wore when they first met. “I found them on Ach-to and decided that they would make a nice necklace for Alina when she got older. Three generations of Solo’s carrying around the same dice.” When she looked up at Ben there was a soft smile on his face. He reached a handout and gently took the necklace from Rey’s hands.

“When I was a little boy, I carried them around like they were the most precious thing that ever existed and told anyone that would listen that I was going to be a pilot just like my dad.” His smile fell at the mention of Han, “When I saw it dangling around Alina’s neck, I was shocked to see them again and at that moment I knew that she truly was mine. Too bad she’ll never be able to proudly tell people how much she wants to be like her dad because who would ever want to be like me.”

“Hey,” Rey cupped his cheek breaking his concentration from the dice, “Alina loves you and I know that if I had told her the truth sooner she would have told anyone and every one the good man that you truly were and are.”

“Do you think your friends will believe that I’m the good man that you claim that I am?” Ben wore a solemn look on his face as he asked the question.

“Well,” she sighed knowing what was about to happen next, “there is only one way to find out.”

Ben put the necklace in his pocket and took Rey’s hand into his. They began walking down the hallway to where they were going to meet Rey’s friends.

* * *

“You know what maybe we should go back inside and make it act like we aren’t home.” Shara groaned as they began their descent down the stairs to the beach. BB-8 was practically nudging her ankles trying to get her to go down the stairs. The young girl groaned at her family droid forced her to go down the stairs. “You know what, BB? Why don’t you go ahead of us? If dad sees you first, I’m sure that will put him in a better mood when he sees me.” 

“Really, Shara?” Milo laughed, “You’re using BB to deflect your dad's anger towards you?”

“Yeah and?” Shara shrugged nonchalantly, “I’m gonna use Lina as one too since she’s his other firstborn.” Ali rolled her eyes at the comment, of course, Shara would throw her to the wolves as a way to deflect from everything. 

As they made it down the final set of stairs, Ali took Milos’s hand into hers. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Milo knew that his girlfriend was nervous not only how his parents and Poe were going to react to Alina taking them on this crazy adventure, but especially how they were going to react to her father being back from the dead. 

Just moments before all of them were laughing and enjoying each other’s company and the night before would be one that Milo and Alina would never forget, but the cheerful mood was nowhere to be found now. 

Not far in the distance, they could hear voices approaching them. Poe’s voice was the most recognizable. As soon as BB8 heard his friend’s voice he let out a loud shriek and began rolling at a fast pace past them, nearly knocking over Milo and Alina. 

“Buddy!!” Poe’s voice rang through their ears, “Where's my kid?” 

Shara’s face broke into a soft smile and pushed past her two friends. They knew that even though their friend was scared of how her father was going to react to seeing her they knew that she missed her dad. 

As soon as father and daughter saw each other Poe was on his feet and taking large strides to meet her. Poe opened his mouth and pointed his finger to scold her, but before he could say anything Shara flung her arms around her father’s neck. 

“Daddy, I’m so sorry,” she cried into her father’s neck, “Lina made me go with her and I couldn’t say no.” 

Poe, of course, now didn’t have the heart to yell at his daughter anymore or at least right at this moment. Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. 

“Shhh, It’s okay, baby,” Poe patted her back in hopes to calm her down, “we’ll talk later, but I’m just glad to see that you’re okay.”

“I can’t believe that the crying actually worked,” Milo leaned down and whispered into Alina’s ear.

“Oh come on,” Ali laughed, “you didn’t think he would have broken down the moment he saw his little girl?” The conversation between the couple quickly ended when Poe noticed them.

“You,” Poe broke the hug with his daughter, in an almost stern voice.  _ Oh, great I’m the one that gets yelled at _ , Ali practically yelled in her head. She thought she was about to get the talking of her life but her uncle's stern expression turned into a soft smile and wide arm for a welcoming embrace. “Get over here.” 

Ali released Milo’s hand and took the few steps that landed into her uncle’s arms.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay, sweetheart,” Poe said as he wrapped his arms tighter around his niece, “but you took my kid and my droid, so I’m a little pissed off.”

“Ah, I knew that was coming,” She pulled away slightly to look at her uncle, “I’m sorry about Shara, but it was her idea to bring BB.” 

“I figured that much, but I'm just glad you two are okay.” he brought both of the girls into a tight hug, “You too, kid.” he nodded towards Milo. The boy began to join the embrace, but stopped once he saw his parents come into view.

“Milo Finnigan Tico,” his mother’s voice rang through his and everyone’s ears.

“Oh no, someone’s in trouble.” Ali gave her boyfriend a nervous smile. Milo groaned and began to stride towards his parents. Alina trotted behind him and took his hand.

“Hi Ma,” he smiled nervously as he reached his mother. Milo practically towered over Rose that it was almost comical seeing them next to one another.

“Hi, Ma? That’s all I get?” Rose practically yelled at her son. She reached her hand up and grabbed Milo by the collar of the shirt and brought him down so he was at her level. “Do you know how worried we were? You could have left us a note or something to let us know where you were going.” She went on and on for a few minutes talking about how worried she was for him and Alina.

“Ma,” Milo laughed, “Ma, we’re fine.” She continued even louder and angrier that her son tried to interrupt her. “Mom, come on,” before she could continue he scooped her up into his arms bringing her into a hug. Her yelling turned into laughter.

“Put me down,” Rose gave her son a light slap on his shoulder. Milo followed his mother’s wishes and set her back down onto her feet. “You could have at least told us where you were going.”

Milo sighed, he could feel Ali coming up behind him. “Sorry, mom but I had specific instructions from the boss that nobody could know what we were doing.” he looked down to find Alina looking up at him with her bright brown eyes and a soft smile.

“Sorry, Aunt Rose,” Alina gave Rose a nervous laugh, “I knew if we gave you guys any idea any indication of where we were going you would try to put a stop to it.”

“Hmmmm, you’re right we definitely would have.” Rose glanced down at her son and niece’s intertwined hands and a small smile formed on her face, “So I see we're holding hands now. Does that mean you two aren’t keeping your relationship a secret anymore?”

The young couple began to laugh. “Well, my mom told me that you guys have known for some time now. So what’s the point of keeping it a secret when everyone already knows?”

Rose gave Alina a bright smile before she brought her niece into a tight embrace. She had always considered Alina as more of a second daughter than she did a niece. When Rey had told them the night after the kids had left what exactly Alina would have to go through to get to the World Between Worlds, she was worried sick of what would happen to Alina. 

“I’m so happy that you’re okay, my sweet girl,” Rose said when she pulled away from the hug. 

“We both are,” Finn wrapped an arm around Alina bringing her into a hug. As Ali peered over her uncle’s shoulder she spotted Paige a few feet away. There was a nervous expression on the young girl’s face and rightfully so. The last time she saw Alina, she had been a complete disaster and nearly choked out Milo. Paige was probably terrified of Ali and she had every right to be.

“Hi Paigie,” Ali broke the hug with her uncle Finn and walked towards the young girl. Paige took a step back as Ali got closer to her. It broke Ali’s heart to see the young girl that had looked up to her be so terrified of her. She knelt down so she was eye level with the young girl. 

“Hi,” Paige was hesitant but took a step forward.

“I’m really happy that you’re here.” Ali smiled at the young girl, but it wasn’t working, “I was pretty scary the last time you saw me.”

“You were really scary.” the young girl corrected her.

Ali stifled a laugh, “Yeah I was really scary, wasn’t I? I’m sorry that you had to see me like that.” She could feel tears beginning to prick in her eyes. “I promise that I’ll never get mad like that ever again. I never want you to be afraid of me”

Paige could see that Ali was starting to get upset so she threw her arms around the older girl’s neck. 

“It’s okay, and of course I’m not scared of you,” Paige whispered into Alina's shoulder, “I’m glad that you’re not dead.”

Ali let out a deep laugh wrapping her arms tightly around Paige, “I’m happy I’m not dead either and that you’re not scared of me too.” 

The young girl smiled at Alina and gave her another quick hug before racing to jump into her brother’s arms. Ali got onto her feet and smiled at the sight before her. Milo and Shara were reunited with their parents and as glanced up at the beautiful home that they were staying in and knowing that her parents were inside of it. Her eyes met Milo’s and his face broke into a wide smile but soon fell when an unexpected face could be seen behind her. 

Ali turned around to see who was behind her. When she turned around her uncle Chewie was standing a few feet behind her. 

“Chewie!” She exclaimed like a young girl. Ali had expected to see him at the gala a few days prior, but something had come up so he was unable to attend. She wondered why he was here now but then it suddenly dawned on her. Chewie was her grandfather’s faithful friend and when she had seen blips of her father’s life before she almost stabbed the manifestation of Kylo Ren she saw how close Ben and Chewie were. 

“Oh no, Chewie,” Ali turned back to Milo with a grave expression on her face. They each took a few steps closing the gap between one another, Rose was a few paces behind her son. 

“Does he know?” Alina looked at her aunt in horror. “Does he know that …” Rose interjected before the girl could finish.

“Yes,” her aunt’s voice was calm, “Chewie knows why we’re all here.”

“So its true,” Poe joined them with Shara only a few steps behind him, “Kylo,” he took a deep breath changing his words, “Ben Solo, he’s alive?” 

Ali nodded her head, “Ben Solo, my father, is alive.”

At that moment it was like all of the air was sucked out of the area. The happy reunion changed into one of worried glances between one another. 

“Where are they?” Finn’s usually joyful voice was now cold. He placed a protective arm around Rose’s shoulder.

“They’re inside,” Ali nodded to the home. She was trying not to show it but they could all tell that she was nervous. At that point, Chewie had joined the group and had placed a hand on Alina’s shoulder. She wrapped her arms around her uncle’s furry torso. 

As nervous as Alina was, nervous about how the next few minutes or hours were going to go, she was glad that would be at least one familiar face. That there was at least their was one other person that would be glad that Ben was alive.

“We should probably head back,” Ali broke the hug and took Milo’s hand, “They are probably waiting for us.”

With that, the group began to take the journey back into the home. The nerves that had started to fade away with the excitement of being reunited with her family began to rematerialize before her. Ali’s hands started to get clammy and her breathing began to almost be labored.

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay,” Milo whispered in her ear as they headed up the stairs.

“I know,” Alina’s voice was slightly shaky, “but the last thing I need right now is a brawl or another galactic war starting today because nobody can get along.”

Milo let out a light laugh, “I won’t let them brawl, I promise.” 

“Well you haven’t gotten into a fight yet with my dad yet, so I trust that you won’t let your dad kill my dad” Ali let out a sigh. 

When they got to the top of the stairs Ali looked out to the lake. Once again all of their lives were about to change and neither of them had any idea how everything was going to end up. She thought of all of the joy that she had felt when they had first arrived at the island and now…. now everything was about to change. 

* * *

“So, are you nervous to introduce me to your friends?” Ben asked, giving Rey’s hand a light squeeze. They were almost to the sitting room and he could tell that something was off with her. 

Rey laughed nervously and lifted herself on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

“I haven’t been this nervous since Alina was first born and my friends met her for the first time.”

Rey would never forget the day that she brought Alina into this world 

_ She had been both emotional and physically exhausted after childbirth. She knew it was going to be grueling but not this painful. Her contractions had started nearly seventeen hours ago, waking her up from a shockingly peaceful sleep. The contractions weren’t awful when they first started. She was able to catch a few more hours of sleep and even had a chance to work on the final details of the construction plans for her new Jedi temple.  _

_ It wasn't until about the tenth hour when her labor really began to progress. Rose had arrived a few hours before Rey’s contractions became longer and more frequent. The pair had decided a few weeks prior that it was best for Rey to deliver the baby at home because it would cause less of a scene and would create fewer questions about who the baby’s father was. They had found a midwife that made it very apparent when meeting her newest patient that she would not ask any questions and even though Rose herself was pregnant with her own child she was there every step of the way for her friend. _

_ “Ben should be here.” Rey cried into a pillow as she was crouching down beside her bed because that was the only way to alleviate any of her pain. She rarely ever said his name out loud and it felt strange as it came off of her tongue but saying his name was almost comforting to her. _

_ “I know, sweetie,” Rose said as she rubbed small circles on Rey's lower back, “he should be here, by your side, rubbing your back, cheering you on, telling you how much he loves you and I’m so sorry that he can’t be here for you right now.” She meant it too. Rose could only imagine what it would be like not to have Finn by her side when they had their baby. _

_ “I don’t think I can do this without him.” she hiccuped as even more tears began to stream down her cheeks. _

_ “Yes, you can.” Rose reassured, “You are the strongest woman that I know. I might not be Ben…. but I love you and I’m not going anywhere. Okay?” _

_ Rey sniffed and gave Rose a soft smile, “Okay,” _

_ It wasn’t long after that when Rey felt the urge to push.  _

_ She screamed. She cursed. She writhed in pain. All of the things that she read about childbirth said that it was wonderful and beautiful, but that was all a lie. At one point when the midwife went to grab more towels, Rey growled.  _

_ “If I ever see that moofmilker again I’m going to kill him myself.”  _

_ Rose had to stifle a laugh by biting her lip and gave Rey's hand a reassuring squeeze.  _

_ All of the grueling pain was worth it though when her screams and cries were overshadowed by the soft cries of a newborn baby. The midwife placed the baby on Rey’s chest and the tears that streamed down her cheeks turned to the happiest ones she had ever shed.  _

_ “It’s a girl!” Rose exclaimed but Rey already knew that. When Rey first found out that she was pregnant she was convinced that she was having a boy. She had picked out a name and decided that his middle name would be Ben, after his father. Until one day Rey was sitting on her couch reading the Jedi texts when she could feel their baby’s force signature for the first time and she made it very apparent that she was a girl.  _

_ Rey had been cleaned up while the baby nursed for the first time. It didn’t take long until exhaustion began to take over Rey’s body though. She fell asleep holding her baby tightly to her chest. Rose gently took the baby out of Rey’s arms, swaddled her in a plush blanket, and then placed her in the bassinet next to Rey’s bed.  _

_ When Rey woke up with a start as her baby began to cry next to her.  _

_ “Shhhhh,” Rey hushed leaning down to cradle her baby, “what’s wrong little light?” _

_ The baby’s cries almost instantly began to stop at the sound of her mother’s voice.  _

_ “Oh, you just wanted your mamma, didn’t you?” She cooed bringing her tiny baby closer to her chest. _

_ Rey never thought she could ever fall in love with someone so fast yet here she was completely in love with her little girl. With her chubby little flushed cheeks and sweet little button nose. And to Rey’s surprise, her little girl even had some traits of her father with nearly a full head of black downy hair and even though her eyes were blue for now she knew that they would soon be light brown. _

_ “I'm so excited to finally meet you, little light.” the baby’s eyes cracked open showing off her bright blue eyes, “I’ve waited a long time to meet you, and I’m so happy that you’re finally here.” tears began to well in her eyes thinking about the one person that she wished was here right now.  _

_ “I’m so sorry that your daddy can’t be here right now.” The tears that she was trying so hard to keep at bay began to stream down her face. “I know that he would be just as excited to meet you. I’m sure if he were here right now you would already be wrapped around his finger and I know with my whole heart that he would love you.” For the past nine months, Rey tried to envision how Ben would have reacted to her pregnancy and right now she wondered how Ben would be like as a new father.  _

_ “Even though it’s just the two of us, there are a whole bunch of people who love you too and would do anything to make sure that you are ok.” As if on cue there was a light knock on the door and Rose popped her head in. _

_ “Hey,” her face broke into a wide smile seeing mother and daughter bonding, “are you up for visitors? Finn’s here.” _

_ “Yeah,” Rey nodded her head. As excited as she was for her best friend to meet her daughter, she was still afraid that Finn would resent her because who her father was. Even though Finn said multiple times that he would not hate her baby because of who her father was there was still a piece that worried he would go back on his word.  _

_ Finn walked in slowly as if not to make any noise. When his eyes fell upon Rey he couldn’t help but smile. “Hi,” _

_ “Hi,” Rey patted the edge of the bed next to her motioning him to take a seat next to her, “come, meet your niece.”  _

_ He gently eased himself onto the bed and marveled at the tiny bundle in Rey’s arms. His smile began to fall through at the realization of who the baby looked like. _

_ “She looks like him.” It wasn’t a diss though and Rey knew that.  _

_ “At least I’ll always have a piece of him.” She could feel fresh tears beginning to well in her eyes. _

_ “Way to go, Finn, you made her cry.” Rose smacked her husband on the shoulder. _

_ “No, it’s fine I was already crying about it.” She gave a sad laugh as she wiped away at her tears. “I just really wish that he was here.” _

_ Rose and Finn gave her a sad smile. They might not necessarily like the father of their niece but they did feel for Rey. _

_ “So, does this little lady have a name?” Rose asked, trying to change the subject. _

_ “She does,” Rey smiled down at her daughter, “but I want to tell all of you together so we should wait for Poe.” _

_ “Where is Poe, anyway?” Rose sat next to Finn giving him a curious look. _

_ “I don’t know,” Finn shrugged, “I commed him this morning to tell him that you had gone into labor, and again right before I came over here to see the baby.” _

_ “Do we think he’s busy at the academy or the mystery girl?” Rey raised an eyebrow to her friends. _

_ “Definitely the mystery girl.” Rose and Finn said in unison with a light laugh. _

_ For the past few months, Poe had been seeing this woman that none of them knew anything about. They had heard through the grapevine that she was a First Order spy before defecting and becoming a spy for the Resistance, and currently was a senator for the new government. She had recently divorced from her husband who was a First Order officer. The group probably wouldn’t have even learned about her if Poe hadn’t had too much to drink at Finn and Rose’s wedding and let it slip that he was seeing her.  _

_ “Do you think he’ll ever let us meet her?” Rey leaned back into the pillows propping her up. _

_ “It's more like she’s afraid to meet us.” Finn sighed, “I think she’s afraid that we’ll judge her about her past.” _

_ “Really??” Rey asked, almost annoyed and glanced down at the baby in her arms knowing that if this woman knew anything about the baby’s father then she definitely wouldn’t feel any uncertainty. “She has nothing to worry about.” _

_ The group began to laugh because it was true. They all had a past and would graciously take this woman into their dysfunctional family. _

_ “Do you want to hold her?” Rey offered to Finn who was still marveling at the baby. _

_ “Oh um,” he was hesitant, “no, I think I’ll pass. Let Rose hold her.” _

_ “I already held her babe, it’s your turn. What are you scared?” Rose laughed. _

_ “No,” Finn laughed nervously, “she’s just so tiny, and I don’t want to drop her.”  _

_ “Oh come on, you’ll be fine. Besides, you only have another three and a half months before you have one your own.” Rose put a hand on her expanding abdomen. _

_ Finn let out a deep sigh, “Give her to me,” he held his arms out and Rey gently placed her daughter into her best friend’s arms. The baby was hardly even bothered by the transition of who was holding her. _

_ “You having a girl makes me feel like we are having a girl too.” Rose was too busy looking at the baby to notice the glance between Rey and Finn.  _

_ Rose and Finn had decided early on that they wouldn’t learn the baby’s gender even though Rey knew the gender of their baby. It didn’t take long though before Finn was able to sense that they were having a boy.  _

_ “I can’t believe that you’re a mom.” Finn was still in shock even though it had been six months since Rey had revealed to them that she was pregnant.  _

_ “I had her and I still can’t believe it.” Rey laughed as she took the baby back into her arms because she started to squirm again but instantly fell asleep once she was back in her mother’s arms. _

_ “Hello?” came Poe’s voice from inside the apartment.  _

_ “We’re in the bedroom,” Rey called out. _

_ The expected Poe to show up in a greasy flight suit and smelling of recycled air, but, he wore a wrinkled pale blue shirt, black slacks that were far too small, and the boots that went with his flight suit. He looked like a complete disaster, but had a wide smile on his face and held a rather large Wookie plush in his hands. _

_ “Glad to see you could finally join us to meet your niece.” Rey laughed as he came into the room and set the plush on the chest at the foot of the bed. “So what were you doing that was so important?” _

_ “More like who were you doing?” Finn muttered loud enough so the girls could hear him clearly, but it would take Poe a few seconds to comprehend what his friend said. The girls instantly began to laugh, but Poe's face on the other hand fell to a stern line. _

_ “Really nice Finn, and in front of the baby too.” Poe walked over to Rey’s side and peered at the bundle in her arms. It didn’t take long for the frown on his face to form into a small smile, “So a girl?” _

_ “It’s a girl,” Rey smiled back down at the baby. _

_ “She looks like Leia.” His voice sounded like it was in shock. _

_ “She does, doesn’t she?” Rey confirmed, thinking about how much she would have also loved to have her here to welcome her granddaughter into the world.  _

_ “Can I hold her?” Poe asked almost abruptly. Rey was a little apprehensive of letting Poe hold her baby, because well, it was Poe, but was shocked to find out that he was actually a pro at holding babies. _

_ “So, what were you really doing that you couldn’t answer my comms?” Finn asked Poe as he swayed around with the baby in his arms.  _

_ “Well,” Poes eyes went wide and gave a light laugh, “I have some news for you guys.” _

_ “What kind of news?” Rose looked at him confused.  _

_ “I got married,” Poe lifted his hand to show off the gold band on his left hand.  _

_ Rey, Finn, and Rose gave each other confused, wide eye looks. _

_ “I’m sorry, but did I hear that right?” Rey laughed at the thought, “You got married?” _

_ “To who?” Finn added, “The mystery girl? But we haven’t even met her yet, how are we supposed to know that she’s good for you, or rather, if she’s  _ **_too_ ** _ good for you?” _

_ “Wait, today?” Rose asked, equally stunned. _

_ Poe gave Finn an annoyed look, “Yes, I got married to the mystery woman, her name is Andromeda, by the way, and I’ll have you know that she’s perfect for me.” He looked at the chrono on the wall before turning back to the group, “We made it official about an hour ago. _

_ Rose got off of the bed and grabbed Poe’s hand rather forcefully to examine the ring. “There is no way that there is a woman in this galaxy dumb enough to marry you.” _

_ “Well, I found one,” he laughed nervously, “and it was her idea to marry me, so...” _

_ “Are we going to meet her now, or are you going to keep her a secret forever?” Finn asked. _

_ “Don’t worry, you’ll meet her soon. I was going to bring her tonight, but she thought that it wasn’t the best idea. This,” he motioned to the baby, “is enough excitement for one day.” _

_ “Well, shouldn’t you be with her instead of us?” Rey asked with a smile. _

_ “I should,” he looked down to the sleeping baby in his arms, “but I had something a little bit more pressing.” _

_ Rey opened her arms and Poe placed her daughter back into her arms. _

_ “Didn’t you say you would tell us her once Poe got here?” Rose asked Rey. _

_ “I did,” Rey smiled up at her friends, then back down to her baby, “Guys, I would like you to meet my daughter, Alina Leia Skywalker.” _

_ “It’s beautiful,” Rose exclaimed, taking a seat next to Rey, “We’re so excited to meet you, miss Alina.” _

_ “She would have loved her,” Poe gave a sad smile thinking about his mentor. _

_ “They both would have,” Finn added, putting a reassuring hand on Rey’s shoulder.  _

_ Rey wasn’t sure who exactly her friend was referring to, but deep down she knew it was about Ben.  _

“So, do you still want to kill me?” Rey looked up at Ben for a few seconds completely confused, until it dawned upon her that he had been her head throughout the whole time.

Rey gasped, and playfully smacked Ben’s arm, “Maybe I do now since you won’t get out of my head.” 

“Oh, I barely even had to break into your head.” he laughed lightly, “You were practically screaming your thoughts.”

She rolled her eyes but a soft smile fell on her face, “I’m glad that you got to see our daughter be born in some way.”

A small smile began to form on his face. Ben was happy that in some roundabout way he was able to see Alina’s birth, but that wouldn’t be enough to fill the hole that would always be there for missing the past eighteen years of Alina’s life. He wasn’t there to see her take first steps, get to hear her say her first words, and all of her other firsts. Ben couldn’t dwell on the past though because not far in the distance voices were coming from the large sitting room.

“Are you ready?” Rey asked giving his hand a light squeeze.

“No,” Ben looked down to her and placed a hand on Rey’s cheek, “I know this isn’t going to go well for any of us, but the only way that we'll ever have a normal life.”

“Our life is far from normal Ben.” She laughed and kissed his lips, “I love you, and no matter what happens next just know that nothing will ever change that.” 

“I love you too Rey,” He wrapped her tightly into his chest. The broke the hug and both of them let out a deep sigh. 

“Let’s just get this over with.” Rey took Ben’s hand again and the couple continued down the hallway. Both of their hearts were pounding with nerves. A part of Ben wanted to pick Rey up and just run away, but then her friends would definitely hate him even more than they already did. Right before they entered the room the couple paused and looked at each other one last time before everything was about to change. Ben nodded his head that it was time and Rey nodded in agreement. 

As they crossed the threshold of the sitting room all of the talking and conversations ceased instantly. All eyes were on them, but especially on Ben but even though all eyes were on him, his eyes settled on his daughter who was perched sitting on the back of the couch with a bright smile on her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, ya'll are not ready for all of the good girl dad Ben Solo content in the next chapter and we finally get to see the rest of the squad interact with Ben which is definitely going to be interesting.


	22. The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know it has been a while and I'm really sorry about that. Life got crazy and I wasn't in the right headspace to write. I did though get some time to think about how I want the last few chapters to pan out.   
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em <3

Alina had never experienced so much tension between her family members in her whole life. The happy energy that pulsated through the room full of smiles and laughter had been silenced the moment her parents walked through the threshold of the room.

There was a collection of awkward and stern stares between everyone, especially her uncles and father. It was almost uncomfortable to be in the room. 

“Oh, wow. You can feel the awkward in the room,” Shara laughed out loud, “I had no idea that was a real thing, but damn you can feel it.”

Poe and Alina gave her a pointed look, causing Shara’s laughter to stop instantly. She wasn’t wrong though, the awkwardness was almost palpable. Ali could feel the heat of anger radiating off of her uncles as the silence stretched on.

Ali was glad that she decided to perch herself on the back of the sofa so she was able to get a birds-eye view of everything around her. At her left sat Poe, who clenched his fists into his lap and to her right sat Finn, who placed a protective hand on Paige’s hand and Rose’s thigh. 

It seemed as though the silence would go on forever and that the pointed stares toward Ben would never stop until Rey finally broke the silence.

“So umm, this is Ben.” Rey’s voice shook a little with nerves. She looked up to him with a soft smile. “Ben, this is, well, everyone.”

There were a few beats of silence, and then Poe aggressively got up from his spot on the couch.

“Yeah, we know who he is.” His voice was harsh and was all too familiar to Shara when she had done something that she wasn’t supposed to be doing. “What I want to know is how the hell he’s here?”

He spun around to look directly at Ali with a pointed finger as if he were about to scold her for doing something that she wasn’t supposed to.  _ Well, I guess bringing back the dead is technically something that you shouldn’t do,  _ Ali mused in her head as she watched the vein in Poe’s forehead pop out. 

“It’s good to see you too, flyboy.” Ben had a cocky half-smile across his face. Poe spun back around, and the look on his face told Ben that he was shocked that he still remembered him. “Oh yes, I remember you.”

Rey tightened her grip on Ben's hand in hopes that he would stop antagonizing the conversation with Poe, but, of course, it didn’t.

“You were my mother’s faithful lapdog. The ‘supposed’ best pilot in the galaxy.” 

“Oh no,” Shara whispered under her breath, “he’s done it now.” 

“Listen here, Supreme Asshole! I was, and still am, the best pilot in the galaxy.” Poe was about to take another step, closing the gap to get into the taller man's face but was stopped by Shara grabbing his arm before another step could be taken.

“Sit down before you hurt yourself!” Shara plopped her father back onto the couch. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder to hopefully stop him from getting up again. 

“How?!” It was Finn's turn to start yelling and to become agitated, “How the hell is this monster alive? How is this even possible??”

“Well FN 2187, the force works in very mysterious ways, not like you would have any idea about that.” Ben snarled. Finn went to get up but Milo put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. 

“Really, dad?” Milo motioned for his father to sit back down, “He’s nearly twice your size you don’t have a chance in hell of taking him down.”

“Alight,” Ali got up from her perch and went to the floor. “You two,” her voice was stern as she looked to her uncle Poe and uncle Finn, “can you let me explain and maybe try not to fight him? And you,” she turned to her father this time her voice was much calmer, “please don’t antagonize them.”

Ben raised an eyebrow but ultimately did as his daughter requested. He wanted his daughter to like him, not get annoyed with him because he had a past with her uncles. 

“They started it,” he whispered to Rey. Ali heard him though and shot him a look that was like daggers. 

Rey and Ben took a seat at the opposite end of the large couch. Her dad, of course, got glares from Ali’s uncles, but Rose gave him a soft smile. The kind gesture made Rey beam with joy. At least one of her friends was willing to be civil towards Ben.

As the couple sat down though their eyes fell on the all too familiar Wookiee seated across from the. Ben’s heart rate almost immediately began to pick up. The last time he had seen his uncle was when he was a prisoner on his ship. All that Ben wanted nothing more than in that moment was to be killed by his father’s lifelong friend, but instead the Wookiee showed him nothing but love and longing that he would come back. Even now, Ben could still feel love for him and was even happy to see that Ben was alive.

Memories flooded him of being a little boy spending time with his beloved uncle Chewie. He had been there when Ben had learned how to fly the Falcon for the first time, taught him how to shoot a blaster, and was always there when things got tough. Ben wondered how many similar memories his daughter made with his uncle. 

Rey looked up at Ben with wide, sad eyes, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know Chewie was coming.” She whispered, “I would have told you if I knew…”

He patted Rey's hand, “Well, he would have to know eventually.”

“So um, I feel like I have some things to explain.” Alina nervously stood in the middle of the room looking between her parents and her aunt and uncles. She was glad that at least Milo knew the whole, well at least most of, the story of what happened or what she had to go through to bring Ben back. Now, it was time for everyone else to hear what had happened the 8 hours she was on Exegol.

“You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do,” Poe’s voice was stern towards her. He practically looked like he was going to go back in attack mode towards his own niece until Rose gave him a pointed look to knock it off.

“Honey, how is this,” Rose motioned towards Ben, “even possible?” At least she was somewhat calm about the whole situation. “I know that your mom had mentioned that he was stuck somewhere between life and death. So how did you even get there?”

“Well,” Ali stated, “I remembered reading a few months ago while I was reading the ancient texts that one of the places that I would be able to reach the world between worlds was on Ahch-to.” She glanced at her parents who intently watched her. Ali wasn’t sure if she should tell them what had happened while she was in the mirrored cave, but maybe that was a conversation that she should have with just her parents alone and not with everyone else. “We got to Ahch-to, but it led me to a dead end. I had an idea of where I needed to go, but that was until Master Yoda appeared and told me that I needed to go to Exegol.”

“Wait, Master Yoda came to you?” Rey asked in surprise and looked at Ben. It had been quite a while since a Force Ghost had come to visit her. She wondered how her daughter even knew who he was. 

“Yeah, I think I’ll have nightmares about the little green creature for the rest of my life.” Shara leaned back into the couch.

“So, you three went to Exegol?” the sting in Finn's voice had gone away and now was more concerned. No one had been to Exegol since the end of the war, so it shocked him and the other adults that the kids had gone there.

Ali nodded her head and continued her story, “Milo and Shara stayed on the ship while I went to the temple inside of the planet.” Ali looked at her friends who gave her soft smiles, “They weren’t in any danger and I wouldn’t have let them do anything that would have gotten them hurt. I was the only one that risked my life.”

“I just don’t get it.” The anger slowly came back into Finn's voice, “Why did you do it? Why would you risk your life to bring  _ him _ ,” her uncle pointed a finger to Ben, “back to life? Alina, honey, did you even think what would happen once you brought him back? What would happen if you didn’t come back to us?”

Ali could feel the anger growing inside of her. Was her uncle really that dense that he didn’t understand why she wanted to bring her father back? Her eyes met her mom and she thought of how happy she was with Ben here with her. Ali thought of her own joy when she first saw Ben in the world between worlds. How happy she was to finally have her dad. How happy she was to finally meet her dad.

“Of course, I thought about what would have happened if I didn’t come back!” Ali was nearly yelling, “Of course, I thought about how all of you would have mourned me. How I would have left everything and everyone that I loved.” She paused for a few seconds trying to compose herself before she continued.

“It wasn’t something that I had to think about Uncle Finn. I knew what I had to do the moment my mom said that there was a chance that I could bring,” Ali took in a deep breath as if she were bracing for impact, “my dad back. Not only for me but also my mom.” 

Ben tried his hardest not to show any emotion when hearing Alina refer to him as “dad” but his eyes slowly began to glisten with tears. Rey gave his hand a light squeeze, she could feel the radiating emotion coming off of both Ben and Alina, and she knew if they weren’t in a room full of people that were pissed off at both of them right now they would probably be in each other’s arms.

“At that moment, I didn’t care what would happen to me. I didn’t care what I would have to go through to get him back. My pain and suffering weren’t what I was concerned about. The only thing that I was concerned about at that moment was to bring my dad back and nothing else. And the two of you can’t sit there and judge me for wanting to bring him back.” Alina thought of the horror stories that Finn had told the kids as they were growing up about his childhood of being a Stormtrooper and the aunt that she dearly loved that had died too soon. 

“Finn, if you had the opportunity to find the family that you were ripped from as a young boy, would you? And Poe, if you had the chance to bring back Aunt Andromeda wouldn’t you do everything in your power to bring her back?” Both men looked up at her with sad eyes. She was right though. They would both go to the end of the galaxy to be with their loved ones. “So how dare you the two of you judge me for wanting to bring my dad back!” It was Ali’s turn to be angry.

“How dare you say that I shouldn’t have wanted to bring back my own father. A man that I thought for years meant nothing to me and never wanted to be a part of my life.” Hot tears began to well in her eyes, but she would not allow them to fall. “I would have fought Snoke, his guards, the Knights of Ren, and Palpatine all over again if it meant that I could meet MY dad.

When I finally passed through the barrier between our world and the world between worlds I didn’t care how long it took me I was going to find him.” Alina fell back onto Ben who had a soft smile on his face encouraging her to continue. “It felt like I was in there for hours. I started to think that there was no way I was going to be able to find him, but then all of a sudden he was there.” she almost laughed thinking about the first exchange between father and daughter. “We had a little bit of a rocky start but it didn’t take long before he believed that I was his daughter. Then we began our way out of the temple and back onto the surface of Exegol.”

“And then you died.” Shara let out a deep sigh. Ali had not intended on revealing to her aunt and uncles about her brief death, but as soon as Shara had revealed what had happened it was as if electricity had pulsated through the adults. 

“You died?!!” All three of the adults jumped to their feet almost instantly.

“What do you mean you died?” Rose had a look of horror across her face. 

“Did you do this to her?” Poe bolted towards Ben. Shara got up quickly to try and stop him but he was too fast for her. “Did you kill your own daughter?”

“What are you going off on, old man?” Ben was also on his feet in seconds ready to fight, “Alina’s my daughter, of course, I didn’t kill her!”

“Yeah well, I know and you have a track record for killing relatives, so I wouldn’t put it past you!” The older man snarled, “And who the hell are you calling old?”

“Oh really Dameron, I heard plenty of stories about your failed Dreadnought bombing. How many lives lost are you responsible for again?” Ben snarled back and Poe saw only red.

At that moment everything happened so fast that nobody knew where exactly to look or what to do. Poe began to close the gap between him and Ben. Alina tried to get between the two grown men, and Shara grabbed a hold of her father’s arm trying to pull him away. Finn made his way into the action and squared up as if he were about to punch Ben. There was yelling and screaming coming from Rose who was trying to talk down Finn and telling Paige to get behind Chewie. Rey was able to get a hold of Ben and was able to pull him away from Poe, but things only began to escalate.

“You’re just jealous Solo because your mother loved me more like a son than she ever loved you,” Poe yelled as Shara held him back.

Without a second thought Ben through his hand out as if he were going to force choke Poe. Ali quickly grabbed his wrist and pushed it out of the way while still holding onto it.

“No!” She yelled at the top of her lungs directly at her father. Ben's eyes went wide as he realized what he was doing. He put his arm down close to his side.

Rey lifted her hand to his face and turned it to face her. 

_ What are you doing?!  _ She screamed through their bond. 

Everyone became very quiet and watched the interaction between the small family. The only sound that could be amongst the group was heavy breathing. 

Alina was shocked.

“You know what? If you grown men are going to act like children, then I’m going to leave.” Ali’s voice was full of emotion. Tears were beginning to brim in her eyes and her face was a bright shade of red. Milo knew that she was about to break and that was the last thing that any of them wanted to witness. He tried to take her hand in hopes to maybe calm her down, but she pulled away.

“Alina,” his voice was soft to try and talk her down, but he was only met with the fiery rage in his girlfriend's eyes. 

“Don’t,” her harsh voice was like a dagger to his chest, “I’m leaving and if you three want to kill each other because of things that happened over nineteen years ago then so be it!” Alina gave her uncles and father a stern look as she stomped out of the room.

The room fell silent once again as they watched the upset girl leave. The last thing that any of them wanted to do was upset Alina or Rey but here they were. Their niece was moments away from a breakdown and their friend was trying to keep the man she loved safe from harm's way.

“Well, nice job boys,” Rose gripped Finn and Poe’s shoulders in her very distinctive “mom” voice, “you’ve upset your niece.”

“Us?” Both of the men yelled looking at each other then to Ben. 

“What did you mean? He’s the one that started it!” Poe pointed at Ben like they were small children placing the blame on each other. Rose's eyes went wide with anger. Milo, Shara, and Paige looked at each with knowing looks that the next few minutes were going to be a disaster. It was a look that the kids knew all too well when they did something that they weren’t supposed to.

“Sit down,” the short woman scolded them through gritted teeth, “if you’re going to act like children then I will treat you like I treat children. Now sit!”

They did as they were told sitting next to each other on the couch. She took in a deep breath and then turned to Ben and Rey. Rose took a few steps closer to the couple. 

She had never come in contact with the infamous ex-leader of the First Order, but she had heard plenty of stories of him. A majority of them were from her husband telling her that Kylo Ren was a large brooding man that was only concerned with destroying everything in his path to get everything that he wanted. Rose did though get some information from the man in front of her from Rey. She rarely ever talked about the man that she loved. Although there were a few times when Rey was pregnant and Rose would keep her company. Rey said that Ben Solo was tall, with kind brown eyes, and chiseled features; and that was the man that she saw right now. Right now Rose only saw Ben Solo.

Rey gave her friend a soft smile as Rose approached them. Rose returned a similar soft smile and took her friend's hand.

“You look happy.” Rose could practically feel the joy radiating off of her friend. 

“I am happy,” Rey said as she looked up to Ben, who still had a sad look on his face but gave Rose a soft smile.

“Hi, I’m Rose,” she offered a hand to Ben. He looked at her small hand for a few seconds, not exactly sure what to do. It had been a long time since someone was actually interested in meeting him. He took her small hand and shook it. “It's so nice to finally meet you, and I would like to apologize for my husband and his friend’s behavior.”

“Are you kidding me?” Finn groaned, sounding like a child as he sat up in his seat, “You’re going to apologize and be nice to him? After everything he has done to us?”

Rose let out a deep, annoyed sigh, and rolled her eyes.  _ Is my husband truly this dense? _ She asked herself. Did Finn really not understand why she was being nice to Ben? Before turning to face him, she patted Ben's hand in a way that seemed as though she was reassuring him that it would all be ok.

“Yes, I am going to be nice to him and you wanna know why Finn Tico?” The soft voice that she once had shifted back to one full of anger. Rose glanced back to Rey and thought about the life that her friend had to live for the past nineteen years without the man that she loved by her side. She thought about her strong-willed niece that grew up without her father and that she nearly sacrificed herself to ensure that he was alive.

“We have had to watch our best friend and niece have to suffer without him for the past nineteen years. Or have you two forgotten how hard it was for us to watch Rey raise the daughter of the man she loved? Or how hard it was to watch Alina grow up without a father, while you two were able to raise your children?”

Finn and Poe both dropped their heads ashamed of what they had done. She was right, they were able to watch their children grow up. Finn was able to watch his children grow up with the woman that he loved and even though Poe lost his wife in an untimely death when Shara was very young, he was able to be with his daughter as she grew up. As they sat there and thought about it, they could hardly imagine what Ben was going through learning that he had an eighteen-year-old daughter. 

“You two should be ashamed of yourselves for how you're acting!” Rose continued to scold the two men, “The two of you claim to be Rey’s best friend. Claim that you would do anything to make her happy, but when she finally can be reunited with the man that she loves more than anything, you treat both of them, including their daughter like Bantha shit.”

She took a few seconds to compose herself before she continued. 

“Yes, he has done horrible things,” Rose glanced back at Ben who had a nervous look on his face, “I know that, and he knows that, but he’s the man that Rey loves. They are bonded together through the force. Through something that we could never understand. He's Alina's father and the poor girl died to bring him back. Yes, I know that you two are worried for both of them, I am too, but that doesn’t mean that we have to treat him like he’s a monster before we even get to know him.”

The group was silent for several moments. Rose stayed standing in front of the boys still shooting daggers at them. Ben wasn’t expecting an apology from them though he didn't deserve it. He wished for Rey and Alina that it had gone better but to be completely honest it went better than he expected. As much as they had insisted that they wouldn’t have hurt him he was expecting a blaster bolt through his head. Ben wondered how Alina was though. She had looked so heartbroken when she ran out of the room and the father inside of him wanted to make it right but before he could stand, Milo, got up. 

“I should probably go check on Lina,” the boy took a few steps but was stopped by a strong hand on his shoulder.

“I should do it.” Ben said calmly, “I’m the one that upset her, I'm the one that should do it.”

Milo looked at the man with an almost stern expression. He didn’t necessarily agree with the decision for him to go check on Alina, but he knew how much his girlfriend wanted to make amends with her father. So, Milo nodded his head and gave the okay for Ben to go check on Alina. 

Ben gave Milo's shoulder a light squeeze as if he were saying ‘thank you’ and with that, he headed out of the room to find Alina. 

* * *

Ben used the force to find his daughter. It was hard to find her because she practically cut herself off from the force, probably a tactic that she used when she was upset with her mother. Even though she was deep within the home, Ben eventually found Alina on one of the largest balconies that looked over the lake. She was sitting on the railing with her feet dangling over the edge. He could hear her sniffling and watched as she continued to wipe away tears. 

“I really don’t want to talk right now, Milo.” Ali’s head perked up at the sudden realization that she wasn’t alone anymore. She suspected that it was Milo though based on the footsteps. “I’m fine, I just need a few minutes.”

“It’s not Milo, kid.” Her father's deep voice rang through Alina’s ears. “He wanted to check in on you, but I thought it should be me.” Her eyes went wide as she realized who had come after her. If anyone came to talk her down or try and make her feel better it would have either been Milo or her mom. After nearly two years of dating, Milo was fairly good at calming her down. He would usually have to calm her down because she had gotten into a fight with Shara or her mom or even when they would have a lover’s quarrel.

As Ali processed that it was her father, she wondered was this really the time for a heart to heart with the father she barely knew? No, probably not but was it going to happen right now? Yes. 

The thought of having to have this conversation with her father scared Alina but it also excited her. Alina truly, more than anything wanted to get to know her father and for Ben to learn more about her. Yet she was nervous all the same. What if when he learned more about her, he would think that she wasn’t good enough to be his daughter? What if everything that she had ever done in the past eighteen years of his life wasn’t good enough?

Alina turned herself around on the banister so she would be facing him. When Ben saw his daughter’s face his heart sank. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and she looked so upset. Ben was leaning against one of the pillars keeping his distance. 

“So umm, I’m really sorry about what happened this morning in the hallway with Shara.” She sniffed trying to deflect from the inevitable conversation. Alina was really sorry though that Ben had to hear about her sex life with Milo.

“It’s okay,” he laughed lightly, “you’re an adult. You can make your own decisions.” Ben tried to remember exactly what Rey had said to him this morning.

“That’s something my mom said, isn’t it?” It was Ali’s turn to laugh because there was no way he came up with that on his own accord.

Ben shrugged, “I guess I’ll really be looking for advice from her for a while.” He wasn’t lying though. Ben had no idea how to raise a kid, especially a teenager.

There were a few seconds of silence. Neither of them really knew what to say. The only noise that could be heard was Alinas sniffling, the soft sound of waves crashing into the side of the house, and the native birds of Naboo chirping in the trees. Neither of them really knew what to say or really how to interact with each other. This was brand new territory for both of them. It would definitely take some getting used to each other. 

Alina was the one to finally break the silence 

“I expected the three of you meeting each other would be bad, but I didn’t think it would be that bad,” Alina spoke softly as she continued to wipe away tears from her cheeks, “I’m sorry for how my uncles acted.” 

“Don’t worry kid, your aunt practically put them in their place.” Ben matched her soft voice, “She kind of put me in my place too.”

Ali laughed again lightly with a sniffle, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from my aunt Rose.”

“I’m sorry though for how I reacted too,” he began to take a few steps closer towards her, “I didn’t think it would escalate too well….”

“You trying to force choke my uncle Poe?” Ali asked.

“Yes,” Ben sighed, “but he started it.”

Even though Ali was angry, she couldn’t help but smile at him as he sounded like a small child. “Yes, even in his old age there is plenty of fire still in Poe Dameron.” There were a few moments of silence neither of them knew what exactly to say but it was Ben who finally broke the silence. 

“I still can’t believe that nineteen years have passed,” he came closer and leaned across the banister a few feet away from her, “It felt like I was only gone for a few minutes but…nineteen years.”

“I should probably thank Maz the next time that I see her.” Ali laughed with a sniffle, “if she had never given me your saber then I probably still would not have any idea who you are.”

“How did she even get it?” Ben asked with a solemn expression, “I threw it into the middle of the sea. There was no way that someone could possibly find it.”

“She said that one of her men found it on the shore. Maz told me that she had it for years but thought it would be a suitable eighteen birthday gift for me. She thought that I knew that you were my father and that your saber was something that I should have. I’m not sure if my mom ever told her that you were my biological father or if she just knew.” Ali glanced at Ben, he was still looking toward the large lake averting eye contact with her, “I’m surprised that people didn’t figure it out sooner though, it isn’t difficult to see who I got the second half of my genes from.”

Ben let out a laugh that was far too soft for even himself to recognize that it was his own, “You look far more like my mother than me, kid,” Alina wasn’t wrong though, there were some parts of himself that he could see in his daughter. The honey-brown eyes that he shared with his mother and her full lips and dark curly hair were all his. Everything else about his daughter was all Rey. 

“How did you even find out about me? I remember you saying something about it when we first met but everything happened so quickly that it slipped my mind. So, how did you find out that I was your father?”

A small laugh escaped Ali’s mouth and a ghost of a smile formed, “Well I guess it all started when I was about eight. I had dreams about you from when you were a little boy to when you were a grown man. I didn’t know who you were but you always seemed important to me. You felt special to me. I kept the dreams a secret up until the night before the gala.”

“Gala?” Ben looked at her confused.

“Yeah,” Ali laughed again, “The Republic threw it in honor of the nineteenth anniversary of the end of the war. They usually throw one every few years.” Her eyes seemed to glisten remembering the night, “I wore a gown that was too pretty for me to wear, but I did like having my ‘secret’ boyfriend stare at me as if I were the only woman that existed in the whole galaxy the whole night.” A soft blush began to form on the apples of her cheeks, “I danced, I ate, I drank, it was a perfect night but then Maz came over to Shara, Milo and I and my whole life changed in the blink of an eye.”

“She told me that she had a belated birthday gift for me.” her voice became almost distant as she recalled the darkest parts of the night. “The night before the gala, I had a nightmare where I was holding your lightsaber, dressed in black. I had gone completely dark and when Maz opened the chest with your saber in it…. I knew I just knew that you, well at the time Kylo Ren had something to do with my mother…. had something to do with me. Your saber called to me as if it were my own and when I touched it...” 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Ben stopped her. He could see the pain in Alina’s eyes as they began to well with tears.

“No,” she shook her head, wiping away fresh tears, “you deserve to know what I saw.” Alina took a few seconds to compose herself and continued her story. “When I touched your saber, I saw the first time you met mom and then every other time the two of you ever interacted with each other. I was so confused at first, like why was I seeing all of this but the more things that I saw the more I understood why I was seeing everything.” 

“It all clicked when you killed Snoke for my mom. I saw and felt how much you loved my mom and cared for her. How much you would have given to see her live a life that she deserved. When I was shown what had happened on Exegol I knew…..I just knew that you were my father. '' their eyes met and Alina could see the tears in Ben’s eyes. “Everything after that was kind of a blur. One second I was crying my eyes out on the floor of Maz’s office and the next I was back home and mom was telling me everything that I needed to know about you.”

There was a minute of silence before Ben solemnly asked, “I’m sure you were pissed off when you found out that your old man was the Supreme Leader of the First Order?” 

Alina laughed too, trying to lighten the mood, “I guess I wasn’t thrilled, but I was more upset that my mom never told me about you. I was happy though to finally have a name and a face to my father. Besides, It was better than any other idea that I had in my head about the man that was my father.”

“So what kind of man did you think I was?” He raised an eyebrow. I guess the thought of Alina trying to envision the man that her father wasn’t that big of a shock to him since before a few days ago she knew nothing about him. 

It took Ali to think of what exactly she wanted to tell Ben about the man she envisioned her father was but once she knew exactly what to say, she got down from the banister and took a few steps towards him. 

“I thought you were a pilot or a pathfinder, or you worked in intelligence, or a mechanic, or just some guy that was part of the Resistance.”

“So I’m guessing that galactic warlord wasn’t on your list of ideas of who your dad was?” Ben asked with a laugh.

“Not exactly,” Alina smiled sheepishly, “but a hero definitely was on the list and that’s exactly who you were nineteen years ago.”

Ben averted his eyes from her as he could feel them begin to sting with tears. “I’m not a hero, Alina. I’ve done horrible things. Things that I’m sure would give you nightmares.”

“That’s true,” Alina said almost matter-of-factly. When she was younger the most grueling nightmares kept her up for the rest of the night when she had them. 

“A lot of the nightmares that I have had were things that you had done,” she could feel the pain and regret growing inside of Ben, “but I know how much you regret doing those things. I know that when you first became Kylo Ren, you would stay up at night and regret everything that you had done to innocent people. How much you wished you hadn’t joined but you felt like it was all that you had left in your life. But when you needed to be a hero most of all you were. You killed the man that you believed was the only person that cared about you to save mom. You brought mom back to life when she was dead.”

“The galaxy needed her more than it needed me. I knew what I had to do the moment I couldn’t sense her.” 

“Exactly, at that moment you were selfless. The only thing that you cared about in that moment was to revive the woman that you loved and if it wasn’t for that love I wouldn’t be here today.” Ali’s voice hiccuped on the last few words. “One of my greatest fears growing up was that you were alive and knew about me but just didn’t give a damn to know who I was. When I found out that there was a chance that you could be alive I feared that you wouldn’t want me or that I wouldn’t be good enough for you.” She could feel herself begin to get choked up again. Ali took a few deep breaths and was able to calm herself down before continuing. 

“But when we finally met there was a different kind of emotion in your eyes.” She looked back at Ben who had his face turned away from her, “There was fear but most importantly there was sadness. Sadness that you missed out on watching me grow up and fear that you wouldn’t be a good father because of everything that you had done.”

“How can a man who murdered his own father ever become a good father himself?” Ben whispered, choking back tears.

“Everyone has made bad decisions. Everyone in that room especially has made bad decisions and yes you have made bad decisions and horrible things but dad,” Ben looked back at his daughter and smiled softly at hearing his new title, “what matters now is that you regret what you had done all those years ago and what you will do to make it right. We can’t just forget what we have done in our past. We have to learn from it and be better because of our mistakes.” 

Ali laid her hand on top of Ben’s, and he finally turned his face to her. She gave him a reassuring smile as tears began to well in her eyes too. Ben took his other hand and cupped her cheek gently wiping away the tears that fell down her cheek. She couldn’t help but laugh and without a second thought, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

Ben was taken aback for a second taking in the sudden sensation of his daughter’s arms wrapped around his waist. A small laugh escaped his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around Alina’s shoulders and rested his head on top of hers. The sensation of the hug was almost warming and made both father and daughter misty again. 

“So you’re okay with your dad being an ex-galactic warlord?” He laughed as tears once again began to well his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s okay that my dad was an ex-galactic warlord.” She looked up at him with a wide smile. 

As their laughter began to diminish the sound of sniffing could be heard behind them. When they looked to see who was making the noise, Rey was standing between two pillars with a soft smile on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rey had dreamed of seeing a moment like this since she found out that she was pregnant with Alina. It was one of her deepest desires to see them together like this. As they should have always been from the very beginning. If there was one thing that Rey was most looking forward to once Ben was back. Watching Ben bond with their daughter nearly made her heart burst. 

“Would you like to join?” Alina asked with a broad smile on her face. The father-daughter duo opened their arms up and Rey practically ran into their arms that they tightly wrapped around her. 

Ben places a gentle kiss on Rey’s forehead which only made her cry even harder staining his dark shirt with wet splotches. The three of them stayed like that for several moments just relishing in the eighteen year delayed hug. This wasn’t necessarily the life that neither of them had envisioned but it was the life that they were dealt with. 

After several minutes Rey pulled away and placed a wet kiss on Alina’s cheek.

“Thank you,” she sniffed and placed another quick peck causing the younger girl to giggle, “I don’t know how I could ever repay or thank you enough.”

Ali couldn’t help but laugh at the remark by her mother. She took one of her hands and brushed away the tears that still streaked Rey’s cheek too.

“I did this for all of us.” Ali reassured looking up at Ben, “There is no reason for either you to thank me. We deserve this.” She looked around between the three of them and her heart nearly lept for the first time, she had a mom and a dad. For the first time, they were a family and would be for as long as they had. The next few weeks or months would be difficult as Ben adjusted into the life that Rey and Alina had built over the past 18 years but everything would one day fall into place.

“We deserve to be a family,” Ali said with a nod and tightened her grip around her parents.

“Aww,” came a soft female voice sigh from behind the small family. 

The three of them shifted their heads to find Shara and Milo standing between two pillars. Their eyes went wide as they realized that they had been spotted by the family and jumped out of their skin as they tried to scurry out of the way. 

Ali rolled her eyes but laughed as she began to yell at them, “You two are the biggest idiots ever, but get over here.”

Milo and Shara laughed nervously as they hesitantly walked forward towards the family. Ali broke the hug between her parents and bounded towards her friends. She nearly knocked down Milo as she jumped into his arms and burying her face into his neck. 

“Are you okay?” Milo whispered in Ali’s ear. 

She smiled into his neck and nodded her head, “I’ve never felt better.”

“Sorry that our dads are a bunch of Nerfhearders.” Shara sighed as she wrapped her arms around Alina’s back.

“It’s okay,” the older girl laughed, untangling her arms from Milo's neck and moving one around Shara's neck and the other around Milo's waist. “I should have expected that it wasn’t going to go well. I heard your mom whipped them back into shape though?”

Milo laughed, “Well, you know my mom. Would you really expect anything different?”

“Not at all.” Ali laughed.

“Our dads actually sent us out to find you guys,” Shara looked between Ali, Ben, and Rey, “they have something to say to you guys.”

All three of them raised an eyebrow slightly shocked that they were actually going to apologize. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Rey laughed as she took Ben's hand into hers, “come on let’s see what they have to say.”

As the five of them headed back to the sitting room Ben watched intently at the trio in front of him and he wondered what kind of friendship his daughter had between her friends. They walked together in unison as if this was the only way that they walked together. Ali had one hand wrapped around Shara's shoulders and her other hand intertwined with Milo. It made him happy that his daughter had friends that cared about her deeply and would support her with whatever she did.

There was a time in Ben's life where he had friends. He wasn’t as close with them as Alina was with her friends but it still made him reminisce about the friendship that he had long ago. Unlike himself, Alina was loyal to her friends and so were they to her. He looked forward to getting to know the two people that meant more than anything to his daughter. 

When the group walked back into the room, Finn and Poe were still sitting on the couch with Rose between them.

“Well, boys do you have anything to say?” Rose asked padding both men on their knees.

“I’m sorry, Lina,” Poe looked up to Ali with big sad eyes. They were the same eyes that Shara would give her when she had done something that pissed her off.

“We’re both sorry, kid,” Finn added.

“I know,” Ali said it almost flatly, “but I really want you to apologize to my dad.”

Both men looked at each other with wide eyes then looked to Ben who was standing behind Alina. If there was one thing that both men were not looking forward to was apologizing to Kylo Ren but if it would make their niece happy, then that was what they needed to do. 

“Dad,” Milo said after a few seconds of silence, “is it really that hard?”

Finn groaned and rolled his eyes, “I’m sorry for what I said, Solo.”

_ Solo _ , Ben mused in his head. It had been a long time since someone had referred to him by just his last name.

“Daddy, now you have to say it,” Shara moved quickly and sat beside her father. The older man just groaned as if it would be the most painful thing ever to apologize to his ex enemy. “ _ Daddy _ ,” this time Shara said it with more force as she wrapped an arm around her father’s neck in almost a playful chokehold, “say it.”

“Fine,” Poe said as he pushed Shara's grip off of him. He got up and took a few steps towards the taller man and threw out his hand. “I’m sorry for what I said too.”

_ Well, at least this one seems like he means it.  _ Ben thought as he looked down at Poe’s hand. He hesitated for a few seconds and then took the other man's hand.

“Apologies accepted.” Ben started, “I’m sorry too, for everything that I’ve ever done to all of you.” He looked at everyone in the room but most importantly at Chewie. His voice was almost flat while he spoke but Alina and Rey could tell that he was holding back emotion. “I know that what I’ve done in my past is inexcusable, but I hope that all of you can look past it and see that I am a changed man.”

The rest of the day went on without any more brawls or arguments. The kids had gone to go swimming because of Paige’s constant persistence of going into the water. It didn’t take much thought to get Ali, Shara, and Milo to agree to take the younger girl swimming. As the four of them enjoyed the water Rey and Rose watched. Well not really because Rose had plenty of questions for her friend.

At first, Rey blushed feeling awkward talking about her relationship with Ben. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to talk about him because she did. For the past nineteen years, she has had to listen to the good, the bad, and the ugly about Rose's relationship with Finn and it was now time for her talk about the relationship with the man that she loved. Rey was hesitant at first but as she continued to talk about Ben it became easier and easier.

“So you're more than happy?” Rose asked with a wink after Rey had revealed some of the intimate details of the night she had spent with Ben. 

“Definitely more than happy.” Rey laughed as she looked up to Ben who was standing on the balcony as he glanced through the Jedi texts, “Sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming and when I wake up he’ll be gone and everything that happened would have been a dream.”

“As much as I want you to stay this happy, Rey,” Rose's voice turned to almost a hushed whisper, “I feel like we need to discuss what we’re going to do after we leave here.”

Rey let out a deep sigh, Rose was right though. They needed to come up with a plan to get Ben into the city and what exactly they were going to do with him once they got him in.

“He’ll never be able to leave if we take him back to the apartment,” Rey looked back to the water and found Ali on Milo’s shoulders laughing at Shara who was trying to lift Paige onto hers. Something told her that this would probably be one of the last times that all four of them would be together. “and one of us will probably have to be with him at all times to make sure nobody comes looking for him.”

“Why don’t you guys just move?” Rose offered, “You could get a cabin in the countryside that’s deep in the woods? Or you could move off the planet? We would miss you and Ali like crazy but if it’s what has to be done to keep Ben safe then…”

“No,” Rey said almost abruptly cutting Rose off, “we would get caught even faster if we moved to the woods and if we moved off-planet,” she looked back to the lake and saw her daughter’s arms tightly wrapped around her boyfriend's neck,“I think it would kill Alina to be away from Shara and Milo.”

“Don’t you think it would kill her, even more, to be away from her parents?”

If they moved off-plane Alina would have to stay on Chandrila. Who else would be there to teach their students? The two of them had worked so hard the last few years building their temple and teaching their students all that they knew. They couldn’t waste all that they had done and just stop now. There would be more students. More training would need to be done and someone needed to train them. 

If Rey were to leave, Alina needed to stay. She needed to be there for their students, but her friends and family. 

The more she thought about it the more Rey thought that moving off-planet was probably the best plan to keep Ben safe. But where would they go? Where in the galaxy would Ben be safe from being persecuted?

She looked up again to where Ben had been reading but he was gone.  _ Where could he have gone? _ Rey thought.

Rose was too busy yelling at Paige about something to care about where Rey was going, so she got up from their blanket on the sand and headed back into the house.

As she looked through the home there was no sign of Ben or really anyone. Finn, Poe, and Chewie were busy looking at the Falcon to see if it needed any repairs after their escape from Exegol. She searched with the help of the force and their Dyad to find him deep in the house. When Rey finally found the room Ben was in she could feel pain and hurt. It wasn’t physical pain that she was feeling though. It was deep emotional pain.

Rey peered into the room and found Chewie and Ben deep in conversation. She was glad that they were finally talking but she could only imagine the kind of pain both of them were going through. So much had happened in the past between them that she was sure it was hard for both of them to talk about it. 

Ben had killed his father, Chewie's best friend for over 40 years. That was an act that would be unforgivable to anyone. She watched as the uncle and nephew quietly converted but didn’t stay long. This was a conversation that she didn’t need to intrude on. The last thing she saw before leaving was Chewie placing a comforting paw on Ben's shoulder.

The whole group reconvened a few hours later in the large sitting room. Poe and Finn were sitting out on the balcony discussing ships, Rose was taming Paige's wet matted hair, while a slightly inebriated Shara was doing a dramatized reenactment of her and Milo fighting with the caretakers on Achc-to to Ali, Milo, Chewie, Ben, and Rey. The part of the caretaker was played by Shara while the part of Milo was being portrayed by a throw pillow. 

Ali laughed as she leaned up against Milo with her head on his shoulder. She looked across to the other side of the couch and found her parents in a similar position. Rey had her back against Ben's chest and his arm was draped lazily across her chest. A small smile formed across her face as she looked at her parents. It made her heart soar that both of them were finally together and happy after all of this time apart.

“I’m pretty sure I have a bruise on my head.” Milo laughed when Shara was done.

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ve got a thick enough skull. I doubt she hit you that hard.” Ali kissed his cheek, “So you two just sat around waiting for me to come back?”

“Yeah, basically and Shara did a little exploring in one of the huts,” Milo nodded towards Shara.

“That reminds me,” Shara exclaimed, “I have something for you!” Before any of them could realize what was happening she ran out of the room and down the hall. 

“What's gotten into her?” Poe asked as he and Finn came back into the room.

“She said she had something for me.” Ali sat up and looked at Milo with a confused look, “Do you have any idea what that could be?”

“Not a clue,” Milo shrugged, “she was looking around in that hut for a long time. The stars only know what she found in there.”

Rey tilted her head as she began to remember the tiny huts of Ahch-to. There were four tiny dwellings when she had landed on the planet for the first time, but by the time she left, there were only three. She thought of the hut that had been destroyed when Luke had walked in on her and Ben during one of their bonds. When she had seen his future.

For years she tried not to think of the vision that she had seen all those years ago. It was too hard to think about him never having the chance to see that future for himself, but now Ben sat next to her with his arms around her. Maybe it was time to finally start dreaming of that future again.

“Okay, so you’re gonna love it, Lina.” Shara's voice brought Rey out of her thoughts and silenced the other conversations happening in the room. “I know how much you love old things and crystals, so…” 

As soon as Shara grabbed the contents inside of her pocket her eyes shut and her body went limp. Alina acted fast getting to her feet and catching her friend before she hit the floor as Poe ran to his daughter's side. 

“What happened?” He asked frantically, stroking his daughter's face but he had seen what happened. They all saw what happened. Shara just dug something out of her pocket. How would that cause her to collapse?

“I don’t know,” Ali's voice shook. She began to tap on Shara’s face in hopes to wake her up when she came to a terrifying realization. “Poe, she's not breathing.”

But as fast as Shara collapsed her eyes snapped open. The young girl lurched forward throwing the necklace that she had in her hand, sitting up, and let out a blood-curdling scream.

“What the hell was that?” Shara’s voice was hoarse, tears were streaming down her face.

“What was what?” Poe looked at Shara with wide eyes, “Did you see something?”

Shara didn’t speak, or really do much of anything. She simply nodded her head to her father and looked up to Ben, who was standing behind Rey, with large tear-filled eyes. 


	23. The Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm like 90% sure half of you probably thought that I had died but after my horrible final semester of college I can finally say I LIVE!!!  
> Anyway, it's good to be back and I've really missed writing. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think in the comments!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em <3

“What if it actually happens?” Ali’s voice was barely above a whisper. 

The kids had decided to go to bed about three hours after Shara’s “incident” if you could even call it that. Everything had simmered down by then, but Alina still couldn’t get her mind off of the events that had happened only a few hours ago. 

* * *

“Shara, baby, what did you see?” Poe asked in a worried, but also stern voice. He tried to get his daughter to look at him, but she could only keep her eyes on one person.

The young girl continued to stare up at Ben as tears steadily streamed down her face. Ben’s face went to stone as if he already knew what Shara had seen and swallowed hard trying to keep his emotions at bay. As the room around them was spinning into chaos, Ali watched as her father and best friend shared the ominous silent moment together, as though they were having a silent conversation.

“Where did you get this?” Rey asked almost frantically as she bent down to grab the necklace off of the tiled floor. She examined the red stone and haphazard wire that was wrapped around it to keep it attached to the thin leather chain. It didn’t take her long before she realized who the crystal belonged to.

“Ben, this was Luke’s. I think the crystal belonged to Vader, well Anakin.” She said to him, but he did not acknowledge her as his eyes were still locked onto Shara’s. It was now Rey’s turn to realize what exactly Shara had seen in her episode. Her breath hitched as she looked between her niece and the man that she loved so dearly. 

“What’s happening?” Poe asked, almost annoyed knowing that he was out of the loop on what was happening, “Are you going to tell me what the hell my daughter saw, or are the four of you just going to stare at each other talking with your thoughts or whatever the hell you do?”

“She saw something that had to do with me?” Ben asked her as he kneeled to get to Shara’s level, “I’m right, aren’t I? That’s what you saw, isn’t it?”

Shara hiccuped back tears and began to open her mouth to answer him, but was stopped by her father’s protests. 

“Get out of my daughter’s head!” the older man snapped at him. A fire began to grow in Poe’s eyes as he remembered nearly twenty years ago when the same man was digging through his own head. There was no chance he would let that monster do it to his own daughter.

“He’s not going through my head, daddy!” Shara shot back as hot tears began to well in her eyes again. She swallowed hard before she continued, “Ben’s right…… I.. I did see…”

“Hey, Hey,” Ben’s voice was calm and reminded Ali of how her mom would talk to her when she was younger and was upset by something. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, which made Poe’s blood boil but calmed down when he realized that Shara almost immediately began to calm down once his hand was on her. “Take a deep breath, and calm down, okay? Can you do that for me?”

It took Shara a few minutes before she had finally calmed down. Ali and Poe had moved her to the couch to make her a little more comfortable. Rose had gotten her a glass of water and was now brushing back Sharas’ hair. The room was nearly silent in anticipation waiting to hear what Shara had seen.

“What did you see, Shara?” Ben asked once again as he kneeled in front of her. He already knew the answer. He could just tell by the way she was staring at him like he was a dead man walking that told him everything that he needed to know.

“We were all in the senatorial building.” Shara started with a shaky voice. Ali gave Shara’s hand a tight squeeze to encourage her to continue. “There were thousands of people screaming and cheering but all of us were silent.” She looked around the room at everyone in the room. “We looked sad and all of us were wearing black.”

“What else happened?” Rey asked as she stood nervously behind Ben. Her voice shook as she anticipated what her niece was about to say.

“The crowd got silent all of a sudden and there was a voice that said, “You have murdered thousands of innocent lives, and now Supreme Leader it is your time to die.” When I looked to the center of the room Ben was bound to a post and blaster shots went off.” Tears were freely streaming down Shara’s face. When her eyes met Ben’s she choked back a sob. “It’s not going to happen, is it?”

Ben gently took Shara’s free hand into his and gave it a light squeeze, “This isn’t the first vision that you’ve had is it?”

Shara sniffed back more tears and tried to answer, but Milo already knew the answer, “When you were in the hut?” He was on the opposite end of the couch sitting Finn and Paige, but he moved quickly sitting next to Alina. “You said that you saw a bug, but you saw something then, didn’t you?”

“I saw your death,” Shara looked to Ali, who had a bewildered look on her face, “I….I didn’t tell you because I thought it wasn’t going to happen,” she took in a sharp intake of breath before continuing, “but then it did. It did happen, you died, but it can’t be real, right? Right?” She was pleading to Ben, but he knew the grim answer to her question.

Alina, Rey, and Ben all knew the answer that she was searching for.

* * *

“It’s not going to happen.” Milo yawned as he turned in the bed to face Alina. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist, “Nobody is going to let your dad get arrested or put on execution, and if something does happen….”

“If something does happen to him Milo, he's a dead man. There is no way that the Senate or the people of the galaxy will let him live. For force sake, we celebrated his death and the fall of the First Order since we were babies.”

“Well maybe, if he does get arrested, we can make it known to the galaxy that he is a changed man.” Milo could tell that Ali was raising a curious eyebrow even in the pitch-black room, so he knew he had to explain, “That he is a good man now. That he’s no longer Kylo Ren and wants to make right of everything that he’s done wrong.”

“I’m sure to the galaxy doing what is right and making up for all the bad that he has done, means dea….” Ali paused stopping before continuing. She sat up almost abruptly taking Milo by surprise. He followed her by sitting up and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ben had only been in Alina’s life for barely even three days but there was nothing that she would do to not keep him safe and alive. 

“I can’t lose him, Milo.” She said flatly but Ali could feel hot tears beginning to well in her eyes. “I would go to the end of the galaxy to make sure that he gets to live.” tears were now fully streaming down her cheeks, “I just met him. My mom just got him back. I can’t let him die… not again.”

Milo moved his arm and wrapped both of his hands around her shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Maybe moving him to one of the most populated planets isn’t the best idea then?”

“Where else are they going to go?” Ali sniffed, wiping away tears, “It’s not like he can stay here on Naboo forever.”

“What about Ahch-to?” Milo offered with a shrug, “The only inhabitants are the caretakers, and nobody really even knows that the planet exists except for us. It would be a perfect place for your parents to lay low and live out their lives without being worried that the republic will find him.”

“It’s an option Milo, but where would they live?” Ali sighed with a laugh, “There are only a few huts there, and I don’t know about you, but there is no way that my father will be able to live in one of those tiny huts.”

“Well, then we’ll build them a house?” He said confidently with a smile on his face. Ali was happy to see that he was at least trying to come up with some sort of solution to make sure nothing was going to happen to her father. “I’m sure that you and your mom would want to tie up some loose ends with the academy and would have to come up with a reason for why she’s going away? In that time, I'm sure we could build them some sort of house.”

It took Ali a few minutes to process the plan that Milo had quickly concocted and then it dawned on her that he had included that both of them would be leaving. 

A piece of Alina’s heart broke slightly at the thought of having to leave Shara and Milo and the rest of her family, but it would break her, even more, to not be with her parents. There would hopefully be time before she would need to make that decision. To leave the life that she had known, or to be a part of a life that she could have ever dreamed of. It would be a hard decision to make, but it was one that needed to be made. 

“We would need to find someone that we could trust to help run the temple but… yeah I guess that is a really good idea, Milo.” Ali went to go kiss him on the cheek, but stopped as she heard the door creek open and Shara was standing in the doorway. 

“Oh no, I ruined something again, didn’t I?” Shara sniffed. The couple would have yelled at their friend, but after the ordeal that she just went through it was probably best that they didn’t stress her out even more. 

“No, you didn’t.” Ali laughed and stretched her hand out to her friend, “Come here, sweetie.”

Shara took a few large steps and practically threw herself into Alina’s arms as she broke down into a puddle of tears. Ali quietly shushed her friend as she stroked her back and curly hair.

“I’m so sorry, Lina.” the young girl sobbed. “I wish I had never taken that stupid necklace.”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Ali reassured in a soothing voice, “If anything I’m grateful that it happened because now we can think of a plan to make sure that we will all be safe. Especially Ben.”

“So, you aren’t mad?” Shara sounded almost childlike. 

Ali couldn’t help, but let out a light laugh, “No, of course, I’m not mad. Especially not about this.” She brushed away a few of her friend’s tears, “Come on, I think it's time that all of us went to bed anyway.” 

The next thing all of them knew the three of them were nestled into the bed together. Ali laid in between her best friend and her boyfriend, and there was something about it that made her reminisce about her childhood with her friends and the countless sleepovers that they had. They were all grown up now, but the three of them were just as close as they were all those years ago, if not more so after all that they had been through. 

* * *

Rey was numb. Everything around her, including herself, felt cold. She had been sitting at the head of the table in the kitchen for nearly two hours now as Poe, Finn, Rose, and Chewie explained to him all of the political aspects of everything that had gone on for the past nineteen years. Now they were discussing possible routes that they could take to be able to get Ben into Rey’s apartment without any chances of being spotted.

But Rey hadn’t been listening. All that she could think about was the thought of losing Ben. She had just gotten him back. They were finally a family, and she couldn’t even bear the thought of losing him. She was so deep in thought that she hardly even realized that Finn was trying to get her attention.

“Rey,” her friend's voice was louder than his normal speaking voice, and was waving his hand in front of her face, “Rey, are you with us??”

“Yeah, I’m here.” She blinked a few times and took a deep breath trying to ground herself, “What are we talking about again?”

“Are you ok?” Rose asked as she gave her friend a worried look. All of the color was drained from Rey's face and Rose wasn’t sure if her friend was about to be sick or run away crying.

Rey closed again trying to steady herself, but when her eyes came up they laid upon the scene in front of her, the man that she loved standing and working with the friends that she had loved for years. Then all of a sudden it was as if every emotion that she had been repressing for the last few hours was being released all at once.

“Rey, what is it?” Ben took a step towards her in hopes to comfort her, but something in Rey broke and without missing a beat she ran out of the room.

Ben started to go after her but stopped as if someone told him that she needed a few minutes to herself. He leaned against the doorway and let out a deep sigh as he began to hear the soft sobs from the woman that he loved as she ran down the corridor. 

“It’s gonna work, Solo,” Poe said, bringing the group back together. “We just have to make sure that we do this strategically.”

“You’re sure that you will be able to erase any video footage that comes in with me?” Ben turned to look back at his unlikely allies. 

Rose nodded her head, “I'll be able to make sure that the surveillance cameras that surround Rey's apartment complex, and we'll make sure that you have some sort of disguise just in case anyone is on the streets. Then we'll get you into the apartment and hopefully you, Rey, and Alina can finally have a normal life together.”

“Normal” Ben almost laughed at the statement, “I’m not sure we could ever have a normal life, but hopefully we can have some sort of life together.” He let out a sigh and nodded his head, “Thank you though, all of you for doing this for me. I'm sure that the last thing any of you thought you would do is figure out a plan to smuggle me onto Chandrila.”

“We’re doing this for Alina and Rey, not just for you, Solo.” Finn sighed remembering the pain that his friend had gone through when Ben had died nineteen years ago, “When Rey lost you the first time it nearly killed her, and to be completely honest I think it would kill her this time if something were to happen to you, and Force only knows what would happen to Ali.”

“I know,” Ben rolled his eyes, but a ghost of a smile was on his face, “the sentiment is still there. So, thank you.” If Rey's friends were willing to at least be helpful then maybe this could work and he and Rey had nothing to worry about. Maybe there was a future for all of them. It would never be the life or family that neither of them would expect but nonetheless, that's exactly what they were, a family. 

The rest of them had sparked a conversation that he necessarily didn’t have any particular interest in or before the conversation turned to what Shara had experienced and what it meant. So before he could somehow get brought into it he headed down the large corridor to go find his Rey. 

* * *

If there was one reason why Ben was glad that he could feel Rey through the force, even when she didn’t want to be found. He could sense her by the lake. Ben could feel the anger radiating off of her like a roaring fire. 

When Ben made it to the beach, he found Rey with her feet in the water. Her hair was blowing slightly in the wind. If he couldn’t feel her emotions he would expect her to be completely calm, but where he could once feel anger it was now replaced with pain and sadness. 

“When Alina was almost two and a half, all of us went on a vacation to the beaches of Chandrila.” Rey had started talking when Ben had reached the edge of the water. Her voice shook lightly with emotion, but tears no longer streamed her cheeks.

“I had never been to the beach before. I spent my entire life surrounded by sand, so I never really had any interest in going to the beach. Finn and Rose though, thought that it would be fun and it would be a good distraction from….” She paused taking a deep breath, Ben could feel a rush of pain coming off of Rey again. “It was the third anniversary of your death and they thought that going away would help.”

“And did it?” Ben took his boots off and joined her in the water. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, but something told him that Rey didn’t want to be touched.

A soft laugh escaped from Rey's lips as she smiled. “It rained for the first few days, and it didn’t help that Ali was under the weather. When the rain stopped and her fever finally broke I took her outside to look at the stars. All of us had been cooped up in that little beach house for days, I thought it was time to get some fresh air.” She finally turned to face Ben and took his hand before continuing, “Of course, though as soon as we got outside she started to cry. I didn’t think she was going to stop, that was until I started telling her about you.”

Ben squeezed Rey’s hand and took a step forward to wrap his arm around her shoulder.

“I told her everything. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the last thing I said before we went inside was that I was going to do everything and anything in my power to bring you back.” Rey blinked away the tears that began to well in her eyes again, “Who would have thought that sixteen years later the little girl that I once held was the one to bring you back?”

Ben wrapped his arms tighter around her shoulders bringing her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes, taking in his warmth. 

“When Alina brought you back I never imagined that I would have to say goodbye to you again.” Rey started after a few minutes and looked up to Ben again. Her eyes were once again welling with tears, “Ben, I can’t lose you again. I won’t be able to bear it.” She choked back a sob.

“And you won’t lose me,” Ben reassured, kissing her forehead.

“I’ve read about force visions, Ben. I know that they nearly always happen.” Rey sniffed, “That is what Shara had, right?”

Ben nodded his head, agreeing with her assumptions. “Yes, I do think that’s what she had, but we would have to test her strengths before we can determine how strong she is with the force.”

“There was always something about Shara. I could never put my finger on what exactly it was, but I knew that she didn’t have a strong connection to the force but…”

“But she does have some sort of connection to it.” Ben raised an eyebrow, “I could sense it the moment I met her. It isn't very strong, but Shara is definitely force sensitive.”

“I never would have imagined that she would be the one to predict your death.” tears once again began to well in Rey's eyes. 

“Hey, hey, what did I say? I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me unless you tell me otherwise.” Ben reassured giving, Rey a soft smile, “What's the saying? For better or worse, sickness and health?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Rey let out a light laugh, “I didn’t realize that we were married.” At that moment it took everything in her power to not let out a belly laugh at the sight of Ben’s facial expression after Rey’s statement. It was one of both pure confusion and pure shock as he tried to process what exactly he had said.

“That’s not what I meant.” Ben’s eyes were still wide with shock and then realized again what he said, “Well, I mean if you want to? I, ummmm, don’t have a ring but I’m pretty sure that I could find out if that was something that you wanted? And if I remember correctly I have already asked you once and you rejected me and now I….”

Rey tried to lift herself on her toes to kiss him in hopes to get Ben to stop rambling, but began to sink in the wet sand. Both of them began to laugh as they tried not to fall into the nights’ frigid water. Once they both got their footing Ben brought his face down to kiss Rey. It was soft but passionate. It was the kind of kiss that Rey would dream of late at night when she was left alone with her thoughts.

“And if I remember correctly that wasn’t really you,” Rey said when the kiss broke. A small cheeky smile grazed her face. “I also remember telling you that I would have taken Ben’s hand, and that offer still stands.”

“Even after nineteen years?” There was something childish in the way that Ben looked at her. As if she had just told him the news he had waited his whole life for. 

“You could have asked me nineteen years ago when you surprised me on Exegol when we were in the heat of battle, and I would have said yes.” Tears began to well in Rey’s eyes again, but these weren’t tears of sadness they were tears of pure happiness.

“I don’t have a ring though!” Ben laughed joyfully, “And I feel like I should be on one knee.” 

Rey let out the belly laugh that she had been holding in as even more tears began to stream her cheeks “I don’t need a ring,” she squeezed his hand, “it would spark to many questions if I was seen with a ring on my finger. Just knowing that I will always have you is enough.”

The big smile on Ben’s face fell to a much softer one as Rey could see a plan beginning to form in his mind. He took her and laced his fingers in between hers then led her from out of the water. The couple walked a few paces to where the sand was dry.

Even if they didn’t have a connection with the force, Rey could tell that he was nervous. When they finally made it to dry land, Ben took both of Rey’s hands. 

“I knew you were incredible the moment that I laid eyes on you, even if you did try to kill me. There was just something about you though and even when you nearly killed me on Starkiller I was still fascinated by you, and it didn’t take long before I fell completely in love with you.” Rey could feel a blush beginning to form on her cheeks at Ben’s sweet words. As Ben began to go down on one knee, it suddenly became apparent that they were not the only ones on the beach. 

“Hey, you guys,” Finn yelled from the bottom of the stairs. When he first began his trek down the stairs he just saw the two of them holding hands but now Ben was on one knee, and he had clearly walked into something he wasn’t supposed to. Rey and Ben immediately turned their heads to see Finn standing at the bottom of the stair that led to the beach with large eyes and before either of them could say anything, Finn was practically racing up the stairs.

Ben and Rey faced each other after a few seconds. Both of their eyes were wide but it didn’t take long before they were in a fit of laughter. Rey practically collapsed into Ben's lap burying her face into his chest.

“Why is it that there is always someone to interrupts us?” Ben asked as he kissed Rey's forehead, still laughing.

“Maybe someday we will be able to have a moment where it is just the two of us,” Rey sighed as she got up from Ben’s lap and extended her hand once again for him to take it, “but it’s not going to be tonight. Come on, they have more information on what’s going to happen.”

“Fine,” Ben grumbled getting to his feet and grabbed both of their boots, “besides now I have to think of what exactly I want to say when I actually propose.”

When they made it up the stairs, Finn was standing on the balcony waiting for them. His eyes were still wide and he was fidgeting slightly.

“Sorry,” Finn looked between the couple with a grief-stricken face.

“It’s fine,” Rey laughed squeezing Ben’s hand, “now what was so important that you had to come and tell us?”

* * *

“We’re leaving this morning?” Alina, Milo, and Shara asked with shocked expressions on their faces.

“I know we wanted to leave soon, but I didn’t think this soon.” Ali sighed running a hand through her slightly unruly curls. 

“Neither did we.” Rey said as she handed a mug of caf to her daughter, “But tonight is going to be the best night to get him in without anyone else seeing him for at least another week and we can’t take a chance on someone seeing him here, so tonight’s the night.”

“How exactly are we sneaking him in?” Shara asked her father who was sitting across from her, “Your apartment has the security system of a republic prison, but you can leave. You would have to basically break in to even get him in there.”

The three adults that were in the kitchen gave each other a look that gave the three children the answer that they were looking for.

“Let me guess,” Milo started, “my parents and sister aren’t here now because they had to go home, well my mom had to go home, and figure out a way to disable the security system of the apartment so we can get Ben in without being noticed by anyone, or without tipping off the republic.”

“First of all, you can’t call me Ben only Shara can.” Ben started. His face was unchanging, but Rey could sense the joking tone in his voice. Shara on the other hand took it to heart and let out a laugh towards her friend. “Second, yes, the rest of your family left about an hour before you three woke up.”

“Your mom thinks she will be able to hack into the security system to pause the cameras of the complex and keep them paused until we can get into our rooms,” Rey explained taking a seat beside Ben. 

“Won’t she have to be inside of the complex to pause the cameras though?” Alina asked. Technology wasn’t necessarily her strong suit. She often left that for Milo and Shara but even the little that she did know was barely enough.

“Not if you have the same security system as the place you are trying to break into.” Poe stood from his seat. “If we leave within an hour we will hopefully make it just in time when the evening guard and night guard are switching shifts. In that time Rose will be able to break into the system while the guards are switching and turn the system off. You’ll only have a few minutes but it's enough time to get Solo in without being noticed.”

“So… this might actually work?” Ali could almost feel the excitement in her voice as she asked the question. Could they actually bring him back without anyone recognizing him?

“It is going to work,” Rey reassured with a bright smile on her face. The positivity was practically radiating off of her. “but to ensure that it does we need to leave as soon as possible to time it out correctly.”

Within half an hour everyone had collected their belongings and was waiting on the beach. Chewie was saying his goodbyes to Ben and Rey before he went back to his home on Kashyyyk. A warm feeling grew inside of Alina as she watched uncle and nephew embrace just before he boarded his ship.

“Shara, what the hell did you do to this poor ship?” Poe asked as he came down the ramp of the Falcon. 

“What do you mean?” Shara looked at her father with confusion. “Oh please, it’s not like you haven’t nearly destroyed it getting out of a dangerous situation.”

“Do I even want to ask?” Rey looked to Ben with a concerned look on his face as she remembered the escape from Exegol.

“Probably not,” Ben sighed, “Will it fly?”

“There is nothing wrong with the ship's mechanics, but it’s pretty beat up on the outside. It will get us to Chandrila, but she’s gonna need major repairs when we get back.” Poe examined the exterior of the ship. “Do you think you can fix it?” He looked between Alina, Milo, and Shara. 

“That sounds like a challenge.” Ali laughed, wrapping an arm around each of her friend's shoulders.

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I nearly destroyed this ship and had to fix it before everyone found out.” Shara sighed.

“What?!” All three adults gave the youngest of the three a concerned look. BB-8 shrieked and raced up the ramp of the ship remembering exactly what Shara was referring to. 

“Kidding.” Shara laughed nervously as Alina gave her a wide-eyed look. The two of them had sworn to never tell a single soul of the time the two of them nearly got themselves killed at an illegal race on Coruscant.

“I know you’re lying, but we have a schedule to keep.” Poe gave his daughter a pointed look and wrapped an arm around his niece and daughter’s shoulders as they began to walk up the ship ramp. “Good thing the flight back to Chandrila is long, so we can have a nice chat about whatever it is you two have been keeping from me.”

In a few minutes all of them, including BB-8 were crammed into the cockpit. Rey and Ben sat in the pilot and co-pilot seat. Poe begrudgingly sat behind Rey with his arms crossed because it wasn’t him that was flying the ship. While Ali and Shara attempted to share the seat that was behind Ben.

The two girls laughed as they tried to strap themselves into the seat. 

“When was the last time you two tried to do that?” Rey laughed from her seat as she began turning the ship on.

“What do you mean, mom? We did this last week.” Ali laughed as they finally got the latch to click shut. The girls let out a sigh of relief and began to laugh again.

“Are they always like this?” Ben whispered to Rey. 

“Oh, just you wait until we’re home. They’re even worse when they are in their element.” Rey laughed as she glanced at the two girls who were nothing but a fit of laughter especially now after Milo decided that he would also join them in the chair.

“Home.” Ben sighed. It all still didn’t seem to feel real. He had a home and a family and as overwhelming as it all was to happen all of a sudden it also felt right. It felt so incredibly right that this was his family now. When he looked at Rey she had tears in her eyes feeling every emotion that he felt. She was so ready to build a life with him, finally after being apart for so many years. 

“Come on,” Rey choked back a few tears, “let’s go home.” And within a few minutes, they were in the air ready to finally have a home together.


	24. The Last Life Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!!  
> I feel like I have been writing this chapter for years but it's finally finished!!! I really hope all of you like it because it's one of my favorites! Also, I have a question. I'm thinking about maybe putting smut in the next chapter. Would you rather I change the rating of the fic and just add one chapter or just post a separate one-shot chapter with the smut in it? Let me know in the comments!!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em <3

**Three months later**

“Are you sure this is going to be safe?” Alina sat on her parent’s bed with her legs crossed as she watched her mother do her hair.

“As long as we’re safe, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.” Rey was putting a band around one of the braids that she had finished, but it snapped in her hand. “Can you give me a hand?”

“Mom, it took 5 people to try and sneak dad in here the first time. They were sober then, and we all know that after tonight’s festivities nobody will be.” Alina wasn’t wrong though. If it wasn’t for Rose, Ben would have never been able to not be noticed and Alina wouldn’t have the relationship that she currently had with her father.

It had been a little over three months since Alina had brought Ben back and had been living in the apartment that she had called home for eighteen years. The feeling of walking through the door for the first time was the most exhilarating thing that she had ever experienced.

**_Three months earlier_ **

_ The speeder ride from the landing pad to the center of the city was nearly completely silent. Ali drove the speeder with white knuckles on the wheel from how stressed she was. Milo decided to come along and stay the night. He claimed it was to be an extra pair of hands in case Ben was spotted and things got ugly but Ali knew better and knew that he was coming along to make sure she was okay. Her parents on the other hand sat in the back seat with their hands locked tightly together as if they were a lifeline for each other. Ben covered himself in a thick black cloak. It wasn't the best disguise but it was the only one that they could come up with on such short notice.  _

_ “We’re coming up to the apartment,” Milo spoke into his comm, his voice barely above a whisper. They were just coming around the corner and they could see the building that they called home. _

_ “Okay turning cameras off in ...5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” the voice was Rose on the other line. She could see the surveillance of the whole building and she needed to be able to get into the computer system of the apartment. “Okay, it's off. You have five minutes. Good luck.” _

_ Everything happened so fast that one second Alina was parking the speeder and the next they were on a lift to the apartment. It was typically a short ride, but tonight it was long enough to make the four of them anxious with anticipation. When the doors finally opened, Alina half expected someone to be on the other side, but thankfully there was no one to be found. The group practically ran down the short hallway to the door of their apartment, and Rey quickly keyed in the code to unlock the door.  _

_ Once the door was unlocked, the small group ran inside letting out a sigh of relief. They were silent for a few moments, breathing deeply to bring down their rapidly beating hearts. Rey had herself propped up next to one of the kitchen table chairs, Ali was against the wall, Milo was leaning against the counter, and Ben was leaning against the door. They said nothing to each other as they stared at each other wondering what was next and shocked that they had pulled it off. As the stress and anxiety began to crumble away, Rey began to laugh.  _

_ The laugh took everyone by surprise but sure enough, slowly the rest of the room joined in with her. Tears began to form in Rey’s eyes as she realized what exactly this meant. What this meant for her and Alina. But most importantly what this meant for Ben.  _

_ He was home. Ben was home. _

_ Ben, the man that she loved more than anything on the planet was finally home, safe and sound. At last, he was home with her and their little girl. Excitement began to bubble in her chest and it didn’t take her long before she was bounding toward Ben with her arms stretched out wide. _

_ He wasn’t anticipating the hug and was glad that he was next to the door to brace himself from falling over as Rey wrapped her arm tightly around his neck. She practically ripped the hood of the cloak that he was wearing to cover his face off of his head. Ben's eyes had tears beginning to brim but a big smile was plastered on his face.  _

_ “Welcome home,” Rey choked back tears and placed a soft kiss on the lips that she loved so much.  _

_ “It only took you nineteen years.” Alina sniffed. She had a big smile spread across her face, the same as her father’s. _

_ “And an eighteen-year-old girl who's far braver than either of her parents.” Rey let go of her tight embrace around Ben’s neck and opened it for her daughter to join the embrace. It didn’t take long before Alina had her face buried into her father’s chest and the incredible warmth of her parent’s love radiating off of both of them. She didn’t know if there would ever be anything as comforting as being embraced by both of her parents. _

_ “Master Ben, is that you?” The small family and Milo turned to see the familiar faithful gold droid.  _

_ Ben stood there slightly in shock to see C-3PO again, but even though there was a shock, there was also anger and even a little joy to see another piece of his childhood.  _

_ Very little of his past even existed at this point  _

_ The last time he had seen the droid he was not much older than Alina and didn’t have a clue on what was going to happen to him in a few short years.  _

_ “Hey 3PO,” Ben said with the same annoyance as he did when he was a young man visiting his parents. _

_ “Oh, Master Ben it’s so good to see you again!” The droid exclaimed and began to waddle towards the family to get a good look at the man that he once had to babysit. Ali and Rey moved out of the way to allow 3PO to get a better look. The droid went on and on asking so many questions that Ben struggled to answer. _

_ Ben listened patiently as the droid annoyingly raddled off the questions, hoping that he would maybe short circuit before having to make him shut up, but then his eye caught sight of a blue and white droid hiding in the distance. The last time Ben saw R2 was the morning before the temple burned. If there was someone that Ben was nervous of having to see again other than Chewie, it was R2.  _

_ He pushed past the gold droid, forgetting all of the commotions he was making. 3PO protested, saying how rude it was of Ben to just dismiss him but once the droid saw who the man was headed towards he ceased his insufferable chatter.  _

_ “Hello, R2.” Ben stopped a few feet away from the droid. If a droid could growl like a feral animal R2 would be.  _

_ “I’m sorry for everything that happened all those years ago.” he knelt so he was the same height as R2, “I know that I’ve done things that are awful and I should not be forgiven, but I hope that for the sake of my family you will be able to tolerate me.” _

_ “Family?” 3PO repeated the word and looked between Ben, Rey, and Alina.  _

_ A small smile began to form on Rey’s lips. It was almost comical how the first person to learn who Alina's father was out of everyone in the entire galaxy was a droid that had known the young girl her whole life.  _

_ “Yes, 3PO,” Rey laughed, “We’re a family. Ben is Alina’s father. Ben was away and he couldn’t be with us, but now he’s back and we can finally be a family.” _

_ The droid looked between Rey, then Ben, and then back to Alina. They could tell that 3PO was confused and could tell that something wasn't right as he processed this information. _

_ “Oh, well I’m sure that this will all make sense in time.” The droid remarked, “Now it is time that R2 and I retire. We have been working hard for the last few days since you have been gone. Goodnight Lady Rey, Mistress Alina, and Master Ben.” _

_ 3PO quickly vacated the kitchen and living area but R2 stayed a little longer. The astromech droid looked the man up and down with his ocular lens, made a growling noise, and then headed down the hallway after his companion. _

_ “I’m glad that after all this time, those two are exactly the same.” Ben turned to face Rey and Alina. “How are they even still running?” _

_ “They’ve been well taken care of by the family mechanic.” Ali motioned to Milo as he moved to join her in the kitchen. There were many times where Ali would ask him to come over to fix a bolt or oil something that was squeaking but in the past few years coming over meant an excuse to be with Alina. A cheeky smile began to form on Alina’s face remembering all of the times and excuses that they would come up with to be together but changed the subject before either of her parents could tell what she was referring to. “Did Shara ever comm you that she was on their way?” _

_ It was decided on the flight from Naboo to Chandrila that the four of them would travel without any of their belongings. It would be less suspicious if they didn’t have bags with them.  _

_ “I’ll comm her,” Milo grabbed the comm out of his pocket and began to type in Shara’s code. _

_ “Did you sneak him in?” the younger girl’s voice anxiously asked on the other end. _

_ “Not even a wamp rat noticed him.” Ali laughed as she watched her parents embrace again. On the other end, there was a collection of cheers in celebration. Something that Ben never expected those on the other end would do, especially for him.  _

_ “That’s incredible!” Shara exclaimed, “I’ll leave now, so I can get your stuff to you as soon as possible.” _

_ “Okay, we’ll see you soon.” The young couple said simultaneously to the other end. When Ali turned to face her parents again they were locked together in a tight embrace. As if it didn’t matter that she and Milo weren’t there.  _

_ “We’re going to go down to the market and find some food and then meet up with Shara,” Ali yelled across the room, but neither of them seemed to be bothered by her statement. She gave Milo's hand a light squeeze, “Come on, we should leave them.” _

_ There were a few seconds after Milo and Alina had left that Ben and Rey didn’t speak. Just relishing in the moment. The feeling of finally being home. _

_ “How long have you lived here?” Ben asked as he began to look around the dimly lit room. Rey lifted her head from his chest to watch as he looked around to see the living room. _

_ “About a month after I came back to my friends, so eighteen and a half years.” She broke the hug and took a few strides to the switch on the wall. Once she flipped the lights the room became illuminated in a soft white glow. _

_ The first thing that Ben noticed was the number of plants that took over the entirety of the large bookshelf against the wall. There were more plants and vines that hung from the piece of furniture than what was intended to be on it. Only a few shelves had actual books and one with a few artifacts on it.  _

_ “I think you need more plants.” Ben joked as he walked to touch one of the waxy leaves of a vine hanging from the ceiling.  _

_ “Our daughter has become quite the  _ _ xenobiologist,” Rey laughed as she sat down on the light grey couch, “Over the past few years she has collected quite the vast array of plants from all over the galaxy. I’ve begged her to stop, but it seems that whenever I turn around I find another plant. I’m sure she's collected something from Naboo that she will have in a pot on the terrace tomorrow morning.” _

_ “What else is Alina hyper-fixated on?” Ben laughed and turned to take a seat next to Rey but as he turned he noticed the flat-holos on the mantle of the fireplace.  _

_ “Alina really likes to bake, so I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have to stay home. She also loves animals. When she was 5 we found a stray Loth cat and Force did she love that thing. I thought Ali would never stop crying when she died.” Rey answered his question but she knew that Ben wasn’t paying attention to her. _

_ The flat-holos on the mantle were even more of a reminder of everything that Ben had missed out on in the past nineteen years. The photo in the center was of Rey and Alina when she was a newborn. Rey was wearing a flowy white dress and there was a beautiful smile on her face as she looked down at their little girl who was sleeping peacefully in her arms. There was a holo of Alina, and Shara when they were young covered head to two in mud. Both of them had big smiles on their faces, knowing what they had done. Another holo was a newer holo of Alina, Milo, and, Shara all with big smiles on their faces. A holo of Chewie and a toddler version of Alina sitting on his lap. The Wooky’s long hair seemed to almost drown the little girl in his arms. Finally, there was a more recent holo of Rey and Alina. They were both in traditional Jedi robes. It reminded him of a holo that had been taken of him and his uncle but there was no joy in that holo. This holo was so much different though. Ben could see the happiness coming off of mother and daughter. They looked so happy. Their life was so happy. He could have stared at the holos for hours if it wasn’t for the arms that were wrapped around his waist.  _

_ “I have more flat-holos if you would like to see them.” Rey's voice brought him back to the real world. _

_ “I would really like to see them.” Ben sniffed and placed a hand on his cheek feeling the tears that began to stream down his cheeks. He didn’t even realize that he had been crying.  _

_ Rey cupped his cheek and lifted herself on her toes to kiss away his tears. She could feel the pain and anguish coming from Ben. The pain of missing out on such a wonderful life. The pain of not being able to be with the women that he loved and the daughter that he would have done anything that he could to be with them. _

_ “We had a good life, Ben.” Rey reassured, “It was a life full of joy, and happiness, and love. We can’t go back to the past and start all over again, but we can pick up these broken pieces and build a life together.” _

_ “I know,” Ben kissed Rey's head, “and force am I happy that I get to live the rest of my life with you.” _

_ “And that’s what we get to look forward to for the rest of our lives.” Rey smiled and pecked Ben’s lips again, “Come on, let me give you the whole tour.”  _

  
  


* * *

“Alina when we brought him home it was only two days after the anniversary of the end of the war. The marshals would have been on high alert for any former First Order officers that were supposedly still alive.” Rey explained as she finished her hair, “Besides, tonight is Life Day and I doubt the marshals will be as strict as they were the last time.”

“But how do you know that mom?” Alina became frustrated once again with the topic. They had planned months ago that Ben wouldn’t be leaving the apartment until the day that they were moving to Achc-to in the next month, but in the past two weeks, Rey was almost insistent that the three of them attend the Life Day eve festivities that took place every year at Poe’s house. Ali had offered that the party be moved to their apartment, but it was turned down as soon as she offered it.

“Alina, we are not having this conversation again.” Rey turned to face her daughter, “We’ve had a very exciting last few months and it’s about time that we celebrate everything that has happened. Besides, we leave in a month and force only knows the next time all of us will be together.”

_ “We leave in a month” _ rang in Alina’s ears for quite a long time. The date had been set a few weeks ago when her parents would be moving into their new home on Ahch-to but it still didn’t feel real. A piece of Alina wanted to go with them but she was needed on Chandrila to run the temple, and to be there with her friends. They had planned on telling the students that Rey was going on an important mission in the outer rim and would only be able to visit every once in a while. It wasn’t necessarily what either of them wanted. They would rather for all of them to be together, at least for a little while longer, but Ben couldn’t stay locked up in this apartment for much longer.

“I know, momma,” Alina sighed as she sat back down on the bed, “but I’m just worried. And as much as I wish nothing is going to happen I’m still worried that Shara’s vision is going to come true.”

“And why do you think we are leaving so soon?” Rey shook her head but then there was a glint in her eye as someone entered the bedroom, “Well, look at you all ready for the party.”

When Ali turned to see who her mother was talking to she found her father leaning against the doorway. He wore a dark grey knit sweater, black pants, and a brand new pair of boots that Alina has bought for him. His hair was still damp from the turbo shower that he had been taking. The patchy goatee that he had started growing when he first moved in was completely gone. 

“It feels good to actually be wearing actual clothes for the first time in months.” Ben laughed running a hand through his hair, “Besides this is my first Life Day in over six years, so I had to clean myself up.”

“And it’s our first Life Day as a family.” Rey gave Alina a slightly pointed look, referring to the conversation that they had just had. Alina rolled her eyes and wanted to say something fiery to her mother but was cut off by the ringing of her commlink. 

“That’s Milo, he's outside.” Ali sighed looking at her comm. A part of her was praying that maybe, just maybe she would be able to talk them out of going tonight, but it was too late. The only thing she could do now was hope that they would be able to make it to Poe and Shara’s house and back without being found out. She came off of the bed and made her way out of the room. “I’ll be back.” 

“What was that look about?” Ben asked Rey as he made his way to her side.

“Oh, nothing,” Rey sighed as she stood up to wrap her arms around his waist, “just the same topic of discussion as the last three weeks.”

Ben nodded his head knowing exactly what Rey was referring to, “She’s just worried, and to be completely honest I am too.”

“I know,” Rey looked up to him, “we’re all nervous but everyone agreed that the city will not be as concerned about ex-First Order officers showing up and most of them will be too busy with their families to even be watching surveillance cameras. And we'll be just as safe as we were the first time. We’re going to have a nice night with the kids and our friends. We’re not going to worry about something that might not even happen and will not happen.”

“You’re right it won’t happen,” Ben kissed Rey’s head. He did agree with Rey, but there was still a part of him that was worried that Shara’s vision would come true.

“Besides,” a big smile slowly formed across his lips as he looked down, “we have some exciting news to tell everyone.” Slowly one of his hands moved to Rey’s stomach where the smallest of bumps had begun to form. A similar smile fell on Rey’s face as she remembered the pure joy she felt when they found out that she was pregnant. 

* * *

**_One month prior_ **

_ Rey stood outside of their apartment for several minutes just buying time. She knew that the kids were gone by now. The usual laughter that could be heard from the door when she usually came home was nowhere to be found. _

_ Good, Rey thought to herself, this needs to be just the two of us. We don’t need a whole audience.  _

_ Her hands shook as Rey began to key in the code to unlock the door. It had taken her a week to finally purchase the test that was stashed in her bag. It would either confirm or deny what she believed was going on. _

_ There had only been one other time where she had been late on her period or felt this much fatigue in her life. _

_ When she walked into the apartment Ben was sitting at the kitchen table scrolling through a datapad. His face already had a soft smile when their eyes met. _

_ “How was your day, sweetheart?” Ben asked as he got up from his seat meeting her halfway and wrapped his arms around her.  _

_ It had nearly been two months since Ben had been back but Rey thought she would never get over the sensation of his large arms wrapped around her body or just knowing that he was alive and well.  _

_ “Oh, you know the usual.” She lifted herself on her toes to kiss his cheek, “Training padawans, mothering younglings, making sure nobody cut off any limbs with their lightsaber. What about you? How were the kids today?” _

_ “Well, I still feel like I’m a child being babysat,” Ben rolled his eyes but laughed, “but they were fine today. You actually just missed them, they left to take Paige back home about ten minutes ago.” _

_ Rey nodded her head slowly. So they had about another hour before the kids would be home. It was now or never if she wanted to tell him. She opened her mouth to speak but Ben could tell that something was off. _

_ “What’s wrong?” His voice was gentle but full of concern, “Did something bad happen? Do you think I was found out?” _

_ “What? No, no nothing happened. Well, not anything bad anyway.” Rey laughed nervously. Never in a million years did she think that this would happen. Or even could happen still at this age. _

_ “Okay, well then what is it?” He cocked an eyebrow. Ben took Rey’s hands into his and gave them a tight reassuring squeeze. “Whatever it is, tell me.” _

_ Rey took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “I think I might be pregnant.” _

_ In a matter of seconds, Rey watched Ben go through a million different emotions. He first dropped her hands and took a step back taking in her words. His hands fell to his hips and his face was skewed. The whole thing made her heart nearly break in two. _

_ They hadn’t even brought up the idea of having another baby. They had Alina and more importantly, they were still trying to make a smooth transition to move off-planet without Ben getting found out. Having a baby right now wasn’t ideal. If anything it would cause everything to happen faster rather than the slow process that they had expected. _

_ “Pregnant..” Ben said it himself as the word began to register in his head. He shifted his weight and took another step back causing him to lean against the table. The shocked expression on his face slowly turned up into a grin.  _

_ Was this something that either of them necessarily wanted right now? No. Was he ecstatic though at the thought that he would be able to help raise his own child? Absolutely. _

_ When Ben’s eyes met Rey’s he expected to see the same excitement on her face but she had her face buried in her hands. _

_ “Hey,” his voice was gentle as he approached her, “Hey, what’s wrong, sweetheart? Shouldn’t we be celebrating?” _

_ “You...you mean you're excited?” Rey sniffed looking up to Ben with puffy eyes.  _

_ “Of course I’m excited.” Ben wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders and rested his head on top of hers. “I mean, this isn’t the best time really for us to have a baby, but I don’t think I could be any happier.” _

_ Now it was Rey’s turn to smile, “Really?” She looked so young as she looked up at him with her big hazel eyes. Ben laughed and began to kiss away her tears, “I’m not positive, but I got something that will tell us.” She patted her bag that laid on her hip.  _

_ Ben paced the hallway as he waited outside of the bathroom. It had only been about a minute but to him but it felt an eternity. Suddenly the door slid open. _

_ “Well?” Ben stopped in his tracks. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest.  _

_ “It has to sit for a few minutes before we find out.” She sighed and sat on the edge of the tub, “Would you like to join me as I wait?” _

_ He nodded his head agreeing and joined her on the edge of the tub. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. Ben easily scooped Rey into his arms so she was on his lap.  _

_ “Was waiting for this painful the first time?” Ben asked, kissing her forehead. _

_ Rey laughed as she shifted her weight to look up at him. “I didn’t have to really wait when I found out I was expecting Alina. I was farther along when I realized and your mother and the force were sure to let me know I was having her. I was going through a lot at the time so I suspected the fatigue, nausea, and lack of a period to the stress of losing you….. but instead I was having your baby.” _

_ “So you never got it confirmed by a medic?”  _

_ “No, I did.” She ran a hand through his hair, “When I met back up with my friends back on the Resistance base I had a medical droid confirm it. That test though was instantaneous, so now I get to suffer through the agonizing five minutes that every other maybe expectant mother has to go through.” _

_ Ben laughed softly. At least they were both nervous about what the results could be. He didn’t want to get too excited though. There was a chance that it could be negative. The thought of him raising a child that was his own made his arms tingle. There would always be a hole in his heart that he was never a part in raising Alina but maybe having this baby would give him that chance. _

_ “What makes you think that you’re pregnant?” He asked after a few minutes knowing that it was almost time that they would get the results of the test.  _

_ “Well first, my period is a week late. Second, I’m exhausted even though I’ve gotten more sleep in the past three months. And lastly, food either repulses me, or I will eat enough food to feed a small army.” _

_ Ben opened his mouth to comment on her always having a big appetite but was cut off by the chrono that she had set up with a timer to give the test enough time. Both of them could feel the nerves radiating off of one another. It was time to see if their lives would change completely in a matter of seconds.  _

_ Rey got up slowly from Ben's lap and took a few steps to the sink. As she peered into the sink her shoulders rose and then fell as she let out a soft sigh. Taking the test in her hand she turned back around to face Ben. When she turned around Ben expected her to be upset but instead a soft smile laid across her lips. Ben stood up almost automatically and took the few steps that it took to close the distance between each other. _

_ “Well?” Ben asked nervously. Rey didn’t respond but continued to smile. She took his hand into hers and placed it onto her still flat stomach but it wouldn’t be for long. _

_ “It’s positive.” Rey was barely able to get the words out before Ben's lips were on hers. His hands were quickly around her waist and an infectious laugh came out of Rey as he hoisted her into the air. _

_ “Really?” He asked with tears beginning to well in his eyes.  _

_ “Yes really!” Rey sniffed back tears, “Now put me down you big brute.” _

_ Ben did as he was told and placed Rey gently down onto her feet. Both of them had the biggest smiles that either of them had seen on one another. _

_ “We’re having a baby?” He was nearly choking back tears as the words rolled off his tongue. Ben places his hand once again on Rey’s stomach trying to see if he could find their spark of light and sure enough there it was.  _

_ It was tiny but strong and bright nonetheless. Rey nodded her head and placed her hand over his feeling their tiny lights presence for the first time. _

_ “We’re having a baby.” _

* * *

“Rose is going to know something is up as soon as we walk in the door and she sees me in these baggy robes.” Rey laughed, placing a hand over his. Neither of them could still believe that they were having a baby. 

“You aren’t really showing yet,” Ben stifled a laugh, “I’m sure if you wanted to you could wear something a little more form-fitting.”

“I probably could, but your son is making me feel bloated so I'll be wearing the baggiest robes that I own.” Rey laughed as she kissed his cheek and then moved to the edge of the bed where her boots were on the floor. 

Ben rolled his eyes as he watched her put her boots on. He took a seat on the bench to her vanity. They had fallen into a comfortable routine. Deep down both of them were nervous about how they would react to living together but their bond made it easy for them to live together. 

“What makes you think that it’s a boy?” Ben asked after a few minutes, “You were wrong when you were having Alina and you thought she was a boy.”

“Well, I’m not 100% sure, just like I wasn’t sure when I was having Alina but this one feels different, so I think this one is a boy.” She patted a hand back onto her stomach when she was done with her boots.

“I think it's a girl.” Ben smiled and joined Rey on the bed, “She’ll look more like you than Alina does, but unfortunately will have my disposition.”

“You've thought about this a lot then?” Rey laced Ben's hand with hers.

A soft laugh came from Ben’s chest, “I guess you could say that.” Little did Rey know that Ben had a dream only a few nights before of a little girl with chestnut hair, hazel eyes, and a fiery personality that could have only come from her father. His thoughts were too loud though and Rey caught a glimpse of what Ben dreamed.

“Well, I’m sure they will tell us who they are when they are ready.” Rey's hand tightened around Ben’s and a smile graced her face when she looked at the man she loved. She leaned in to kiss him and he met her in the middle. The kiss was how many of them for the past few months had been, tender and brimming with love.

Ben began to cup Rey's cheek, deepening their kiss. Neither of them could believe that this is the life that they got to live now. That they had each other for the rest of their lives. That they would both be able to watch their daughter become a woman and both be able to raise their new child together. And even though they had to leave for Ben's safety, Alina would still be able to visit as much as she could.

It didn’t take long before Rey had her hands combing through Ben's hair and he was moving Rey so she would be laying on the bed. Their hands were moving fast in a passionate rhythm and they were so into the moment that they didn’t even realize that the door had opened.

“Mom, Dad, Milo’s here are you guys ready to go?” Ali yelled as he came through the house. She stayed in the kitchen for a few seconds waiting for a response or to hear the shuffle of feet but nothing came.

“Oh no,” Milo whispered knowing exactly what was going on, “that doesn’t sound good”

Ali rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh as she stomped towards her parent’s bedroom. This wasn’t the first time she would walk in on them in the middle of “the act”. Alina had walked in on them one time before she called a family meeting. Her father wore only his briefs and her mother had nothing but a thin white sheet covering her torso. Alina lectured as her parents had sheepish looks on their faces and Shara and Milo laughed hysterically from the kitchen. From then on whenever Alina wasn’t home she would have to comm them to make sure that nothing lewd was going on at home. 

Sure enough, when Ali looked in her parent’s room the two of them were sprawled out on the bed all over each other. She cleared her throat loud enough so they could hear her. They seemed to have frozen in their spot. Rey practically bolted upright pushing Ben off of her. Both of her parents' eyes were wide as they looked at Alina’s face.

“I wasn’t even gone for ten minutes and you two are already all over each other like loth cats in heat?” Alina huffed in frustration. 

“Sorry,” Rey and Ben said in unison. 

Ali rolled her eyes again and took a deep breath to calm herself down, “It’s fine, we’re leaving in five minutes so make yourself look presentable.” and with that, she headed back down the hallway.

Rey and Ben looked back at each other with sheepish grins on their faces and in a matter of seconds, they were in a fit of giggles. 

“It’s all your fault!” Ben laughed leaning in to kiss Rey’s cheek.

“Me?!” She gasped, pulling away, “You were the one that pushed me onto the bed.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I just find the woman that I love and the mother of my children so irresistible.” He leaned in to give Rey one last gentle kiss.

“Hmmm, you really are a charmer aren’t you?” Rey sighed with a soft smile on her face.

“Well, I guess you could say I am my father’s son.” Ben laughed but Rey groaned in annoyance.

“Come on, let’s get going before we get another lecture from our daughter about our sex life.” Rey got off the bed and fixed her hair.

Ben groaned as he got off the bed, “Why is it whenever she’s angry about something she reminds me so much of my mother? Sometimes it's uncanny.”

“Poe would often call her mini Leia under his breath when she was younger. He wasn’t wrong then and you aren’t wrong now.” Rey laughed taking Ben's hand and placed it back onto her stomach, “And something tells me that this one will be just as opinionated.” 

“Force help us then.” Ben sighed deeply as he thought about a very opinionated toddler and took Rey’s hand and the pair walked out to the kitchen to meet their impatient daughter.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The ride to Poe’s house was quiet, except for the usual small talk between Milo and Ben. They were about 40 minutes into the journey, miles away from the center of the city where there would not be any cameras that could catch a glimpse of Ben. Now he was able to remove his hood and feel the cool Chandrila winter air that pricked his face.

The relationship between the two men had gotten better in the past few months. The first time Milo was left alone with Ben, which was probably the most awkward few hours for both of their lives but by the time Alina and Rey had gotten home from the temple the two men were speaking and as if they actually liked each other and weren’t bothered by each other's presence. Both women were shocked but decided that it was best that they didn’t ask. The two of them were currently discussing all of the projects that Milo was working on. 

Milo wasn’t the only one that Ben had created a strange relationship in the past three months. Ben's relationship with Shara was something that started very early on mainly because of the visions that she had of him. 

Shara and Ali would usually spend most of their time at Poe’s, but since Ben had moved in the girls had decided that the world would hang out at the apartment. Only a week or so after Ben moved in Ali and Shara were up late lounging on the couch in the living room flicking through the holo to find something to watch when Ben made his way into the living room only wearing a loose pair of pants.

_ “Busy night?” Shara asked with a slight chuckle in her voice but was quickly silenced by a slap against her head from Ali. _

_ “Unfortunately, no,” he let out a soft laugh as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard to get some water, “You would think that my nightmares would have ended, but I guess even after death they still plague me. What about you two?” _

_ “Nightmares.” Shara sighed resting her head against the back of the couch, “I haven’t been sleeping well since..” _

_ Ben knew what she was referring to. That was also one of the reasons why he hadn’t been sleeping.  _

_ “What about you, kid?” He sat next to Alina in the armchair that was next to the couch. _

_ “I’m supervising.” His daughter laughed. _

_ “Your daughter thinks that I’m going to break something or light the place on fire, so she babysits me until I fall asleep or she falls asleep.” _

_ Ben nodded his head as if he understood, that was probably the best parenting technique that Rey had taught him so far.  _

_ “Can’t you just have 3PO or R2 watch her?” Ben asked, “They were good enough to watch me when I was a kid.” He laughed at the last bit as remembering how much he hated that stupid gold droid when he was growing up. _

_ “See that’s the issue,” Ali laughed along with her father, “I’m scared that she’s going to pull some revenge on 3PO on how much he yells at her for everything she does.” _

_ “One of these days that gold jerk is gonna get it.” Shara pointed a finger at the powered down droid that was in the corner of the room.  _

_ The three of them laughed for a few minutes but slowly turned into a comfortable silence just listening to the soft noise that was coming from the holo. _

_ “Have you tried meditation?” Ben asked after a few minutes. He was about Shara’s age when he had started meditation to help him sleep but he had been doing it for years prior as part of his uncle's training. It had helped for a little back then maybe it could help Shara. _

_ Both girls began to laugh once they realized what Ben was proposing. He gave them a puzzled look, “What’s so funny?” _

_ “Shara doesn’t do the meditation thing, dad.” Ali laughed, “Trust me, I’ve tried to get her to try it.” _

_ “Yeah, I’ll have to pass, but thanks for the offer.” Shara sighed and slumped back into the couch. _

_ “But why not?” Ben asked, “You’re clearly force sensitive, so why not give it a try?”  _

_ “Wait what?” Shara looked at Ben and Alina with wide eyes, “I’m force sensitive?” _

_ Ali gave Ben a pointed look. Only a few days ago she had a conversation with her parents discussing Shara’s sensitivity to the force. They had discussed that maybe it would be best if the three of them would sit her down to discuss what would happen next but clearly Ben had forgotten that. _

_ “The three of us think that you are force sensitive,” Ali sat up to explain the situation to her friend, “but it’s up to you if you want to be trained.” _

_ “I don’t want to be a Jedi,” Shara said bluntly. _

_ “Oh no, I’m not talking about you becoming a Jedi.” Ben explained, “We… well I think that you should get your abilities under control. It could be beneficial for you.” _

_ “What do you mean it could be beneficial?” Shara gave Ben and Alina a puzzled look as if she were intrigued. Her knowledge of the Jedi and the force was minuscule. She believed in the force but the only Jedi she really knew was Rey and her Padawans. Whenever Ali would bring up a Jedi from the time of the Clone Wars she thought that they were myths. Although she was always intrigued about what went on at the temple.  _

_ “Well, like I said it might help you sleep better.” Ben started looking at Alina for some help to persuade Shara.  _

_ “It might make you a better pilot?” Ali shrugged her shoulders. _

_ “I’m sure after only a few weeks of training you would be a better pilot than your old man,” Ben added. _

_ “Hmmmmm,” Shara mulled over the idea for a few moments, “I’m intrigued now.” _

_ “Maybe it will even help with your visions,” Ali added. Over the past few days, she had concluded that some of Shara’s nightmares were most likely visions. The two notable ones were the visions she had while holding the Kyber crystal of Darth Vader and after a few discussions with Shara, the two of them had realized that some of the things that she had nightmares or dreams about had happened in real life. _

_ “Alright, I'll do it, but who’s going to train me?” Shara knew that Ali would be busy soon taking care of the temple and Rey would be leaving with Ben to Ahch-to. _

_ “I’ll train you.” Ben offered with a shrug. _

_ “What?” Both girls said in unison. _

_ “Yeah, why not? I could keep myself occupied while I’m stuck here.” Ben had mixed feelings about being locked up in the apartment but he knew that not leaving the apartment was the only way that he would survive. “It wouldn’t be the first time. I helped Luke train Padawans for years.” _

_ “No, it’s not that, I don’t think you’re not capable of training her.” Ali laughed, “I just don’t think Shara is the padawan for you.” _

_ “What’s that supposed to mean?” Shara slapped Ali’s shoulder.  _

_ “Because Shara if you aren’t good at something immediately then you will throw a tantrum, and then quit whatever it is you were trying to do.” Alina gave her friend a pointed look. _

_ “That’s not true!” Shara exclaimed, “I haven’t done something like that since I was a little girl.” _

_ “Oh, really Shara? What about when I tried to teach you how to cook a month ago and you cried because you overcooked the pasta?” She had begged Ali for weeks to teach her how to cook but it only took one overcooked noodle before Shara practically had a mental breakdown. _

_ “Okay, but I’ve changed since then, and besides if you two think it’s going to really help me then I’m willing to give it a try.” _

And try she did. Shara and Ben worked for about an hour every afternoon on trying to help her heighten her abilities with the force. She decided that it was best if her father didn’t know about her lessons or her abilities. The knowledge of that would only worry him and especially knowing that Ben was the one that was training her.

The relationship between Ben and Shara reminded Ali of the relationship that she had with Poe. They bickered constantly about something that Alina and Rey thought was trivial but Shara was always the one to ask Ben the hard questions about his past. Those that Ali was too scared or nervous to ask him. Well, at least at first when Ben moved in with them she wasn’t bold enough to do so.

Before any of them knew it they were headed down the long hidden driveway that led to Poe's house. The trees towered over them as if they were skyscrapers in the city. It had been many years since it had been able to enjoy nature in all of its glory and not just hopping from planet to planet having to do work for the First Order. It felt nice though to finally be out of the apartment even if it was for only a few hours. At least it wouldn’t be that much longer until Rey and Ben moved to Ahch-to.

By the time Milo had parked the speeder, Shara was already bounding down the front porch stairs to meet them.

“Lina!” The younger girl screamed when she saw her friend and pulled her into a hug.

“Force, Shara,” Ali laughed pulling away from the hug, “We saw each other yesterday.”

“I know, but I missed you.” The younger girl gave her a pouty face.

“Aww that’s sweet,” Ali gave Shara’s face a small love tap because she knew exactly what was wrong with her friend, “now how much have you had to drink so far?”

Shara gasped as if she were appalled, “I’ve had nothing to drink.”

Ali just gave Shara a look that was reminiscent of a disappointed mom. 

“Ugh fine,” Shara groaned, “two glasses of my dad’s Jet Juice, and Finn shared some of his whiskey.”

“Maker, Shara,” Ali sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder, “I thought you were going to wait for us to get here before you started drinking?”

“Come on Al, did you really think she would wait for us?” Milo joined the two girls wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, “Do I get a hug?”

Milo was joking, but Shara just stared at him as if he were the most disgusting human on the planet. Her demeanor instantly changed though once she saw the two figures that were behind them.

Without hesitation, Shara ran full speed towards Ben and wrapped her arms around his waist nearly knocking him down. It took him a few seconds to find his bearings but he eventually patted a hand on her shoulder. 

“Happy first Life Day, Ben!” She looked up at him with a big smile.

“Well I have had other Life Days, kid,” Ben patted the girl’s head as if she were a small child but there was a small smile on his face, “but thank you.”

“Hi, Rey!” The young girl looked to her aunt with a big smile on her face

“Hello, sweetie,” Rey smiled back at her niece. 

“Are you guys going to just hang out in the dark or are you going to come inside?” The group turned to find Poe standing in the front doorway of the house. Shara almost immediately released her grip from Ben's waist and ran to get Alina’s hand. 

“Come on, losers!” Shara grabbed her friend’s hand and began to drag her up the porch stairs, “It’s time for the festivities to begin.”

Alina and Rey had warned Ben of how the night would play out that morning over their morning caf.

_ “I hope you don’t plan on eating today,” Rey called from her spot at the kitchen table, “because if you don’t at least try everything that Poe makes for Life Day.” _

_ “What if it's something that I know I won’t like?” Ben asked _

_ “Put it on your plate anyway. The less Poe gets pissed off, the better the night will be for everyone.” Ali explained taking another sip of her caf.  _

_ “Okay, anything else that I should know?”  _

_ The two women looked at each other and sighed. “You might want to start taking notes.” Alina laughed. _

_ “Did you have someone pick up a secret wills gift for whoever you have?” Rey asked. _

_ “Yeah,” Ben nodded, “I had Shara pick me up something for Milo.” _

_ Alina almost immediately coughed on her caf, “You had Shara do what?” There was concern behind his daughter's voice. _

_ “I had Shara pick up a gift for Milo.” He looked at Alina slightly confused, “I thought that you would already be getting something for him so I gave Shara twenty credits and told her to get him something nice. Was I not supposed to ask her to do it?” _

_ “Well, it's fine as long as you are prepared for him getting something that probably isn’t appropriate for you to be getting him.” Ali groaned. _

_ “Any idea what the gift might be?” Rey tried to stifle a laugh because she knew exactly how Shara was, especially at gift-giving. _

_ “Well she showed me a very scandalous pair of lavender lingerie a few days ago that was in the twenty credit range so that's probably what she got him.” His daughter had a grave look on her face. _

_ “I don’t understand how that's a gift for...” it took Ben a few seconds to realize what that particular gift meant. He practically gasped at the realization and, “I’m giving your boyfriend lingerie for you. Why would she do that?” _

_ “Because it's Shara.” Alina laughed, “don’t worry you’ll get used to it and we’ll just have to wait and see later tonight. Anyway, how good are you at Sabac?” _

_ Ben laughed as if it were a serious question, “My father and uncles taught me how to play before I could even form a coherent sentence.” _

_ “Good,” Alina gave him a toothy grin, “Alright, next topic, get ready for lots of decorations.” _

The beginning of the night went off without a hitch, thanks to the girls helping him. There was plenty of food. Probably more food than Ben had seen in a very long time, and it was all good too. The last thing that Ben would consider Poe was a chef, and a good one at that. 

And when the girls had said that there would be decorations he didn’t expect that the entire home would be decorated as if it were the center of a city's life day celebration. The tree of life was covered from top to bottom in soft white lights and red, silver, and gold bobbles. 

After they ate, all of them sat around the tree to open gifts. Rey and Ben were cozied on the couch with Shara and Alina on the opposite side with Milo at their feet. Rose and Paige were all squished into the loveseat and Finn sat on the arm of the chair while Poe meticulously organized the presents that were underneath the tree. 

“Is he always like this?” Ben whispered into Rey's ear. 

“You should have seen this place when they were babies.” Rey laughed softly, “Poe would decorate weeks in advance and would make all of the food beforehand to make sure everything was perfect. He might not take everything seriously, but Life Day definitely is something that he takes seriously.”

As Poe began to hand out gifts and Ben's heart rate began to speed up. When they had first arrived at the house he pulled Shara aside asking her about the gift that she was getting for Milo. 

“Don’t worry, Benjamin,” Sharas words slurred, “I’ve got it all taken care of.” She said with a wink that just made him even more nervous.

When Poe handed Milo his gift from Ben, he immediately jumped into action.

“Milo I just want you to know that whatever is in that box from me was purchased by Shara.” Ben said rather quickly, “I don’t take any responsibility.”

Shara looked at him with an open mouth, “Oh come on you won’t even let me have a little bit of fun!”

“Absolutely not!” Rey, Ben, and Alina said in unison.

“Fine!” Shara rolled her eyes at them, “Milo that’s from me. I’ll go get you your real present.” She then got up to retrieve another present from the back of the tree.

Milo just rolled his eyes and continued to open the gag gift Shara had given him and when he realized what they were, an annoyed groan escaped from his lips. 

“Seriously, Shara?” Milo asked as he held up a box of condoms. The whole room burst into laughter, except for Alina whose face turned a bright shade of red. 

“What I thought you two could use those bad boys anyway and it’s a good gift from Ben because the man only just turned thirty and I'm sure he doesn’t want to be called grandpa anytime soon.” Shara plopped herself back onto the couch, “Right Ben?”

“Right.” Ben and Rey couldn’t help but laugh even harder knowing that in a few short months there would be a baby in their family but it wouldn’t be their grandchild.

“Thanks, Shara.” Milo sighed placing the box on the caf table.

“You’re welcome,” she giggled, “I’m sure they will be well used.”

“You’re literally the worst.” Ali stifled a laugh and gave her friend a shove.

The gift that Shara had gotten Milo from Ben was a new set of brand new tools for work that Ben knew were more expensive than the twenty credits that he had given him. 

Not long after gifts were exchanged Chewie arrived and the Sabac game began. Chewie had come around a few times in the past three months. He would always spend a few hours reminiscing with Ben about the past and all of the adventures that they had gone on with Han. It was hard for Ben to talk about his adolescence but as time went on and the more they talked it was easier for him. There would always be pain and anguish for what he had done in the past but that's exactly what it was, the past. 

Finn, Poe, and Rose used the same motto with their relationship towards Ben. At first, it was simply just cordial. They were “nice” to him simply because they didn’t want to upset Rey and Alina. For two weeks after they came back to Chandrila, the three of them felt uncomfortable letting their kids over to the apartment. Of course, Milo, Shara, and even little Paige protested and complained by saying how ridiculous they were acting. Eventually, they came around but they still had their reservations about Ben. It wasn’t until one night when all of them came over for dinner one night. There had been a few too many drinks shared between all of the adults. The kids watched as their parents got along and laughed until they weren’t and began talking about the past. Ben apologized profusely and even though Ben and the First Order had done horrible things to everything and everyone that they loved they had concluded that they would never have the life that they currently had now. From that night on they didn’t discuss the past, besides there was no way of changing it, only learning from it. 

Now all of them sat around Poe's dining room table playing an extremely rowdy game of Sabac. 

“I know you're cheating, Solo!” Finn yelled from across the table. He had nearly lost forty credits to Ben at this point and was more than frustrated. 

“I'm not cheating, Finn.” Ben laughed, placing another set of cards onto the table that made the whole table groan as they threw their cards on the table. “I’m really just that good.”

“Here, I’ll look to see if he's cheating,” Ali pushed herself up from the chair to move behind Ben, “I’m out anyway.”

“Oh no, did I take all of your credits, sweetheart?” Ben asked as he dealt another set of cards.

“You could say that.” She leaned up against Ben’s chair to see what cards he had been dealt. The game began and of course Ben was winning without fail. Ali watched meticulously as her father played against her uncles and boyfriend, trying to find something, anything to call him out on but he really was just that good.

“Hmmm, no, don't play that set.” Ali had completely into the game that she had forgotten that she was supposed to be making sure that he wasn’t cheating and began pointing out better plays of cards, “This one is better and you’ll be guaranteed to win.”

“Hey?!” Finn, Milo, and Poe yelled at Alina.

“I thought you were going to see if he was cheating, not help him cheat?” Milo gave his girlfriend a disgruntled look. 

“I was, but I got too into it.” Ali laughed, “So now I’m helping him win”

Finn shook his head as he looked between his niece and new friend and said a word that was far too familiar to the ex-Supreme Leader, “Traitors.”

The whole table began to laugh because who would have thought that they would have ended up laughing at being called a traitor. 

“You know who I haven’t had a drink with yet?” Shara was stumbling down the stairs. The sparkly red dress that she had been wearing was nowhere to be found. Now she wore a matching pajama set with a pair of fuzzy slippers that Rose had gotten her.

“You're cut off, Shara,” Poe grumbled behind his Sabac cards. Not long after gifts, Shara began to get a little too comfortable with everyone that was attending the party so in true Poe fashion he sent his drunk daughter to bed, but nothing would stop Shara from having just one more drink.

“Oh, but daddy I haven't had a drink with Rey yet.” the young girl whined, “Come on, Rey drink with me!”

Rey smiled nervously glancing at Ben who was sitting next to her. They had discussed when exactly they were going to tell their family about their new addition but it wasn’t until they had moved and they wanted to tell Alina before anyone else. “Sorry Shara, but I’m not drinking.” 

Shara groaned, “What are you pregnant?” She asked the question jokingly but the expressions on Ben and Reys told everyone in the room that it maybe wasn't a joke. 

“No,” Rey laughed nervously, “I just don’t feel like drinking tonight.”

“No,” Shara giggled like she was a little girl again, “you’re pregnant!”

“I’m not!” Rey’s face began to turn a bright shade of red.

“Momma?” Ali’s face grew into a big smile, “Are you?”

“You are so pregnant.” Rose laughed from across the table and then began to chant baby with Finn, and Poe as if she were egging Rey on to just tell the truth.

“Just tell them.” Ben groaned but there was a smile plastered across his face. He knew that they would be happy but he wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction.

“Alright fine!” Rey yelled to silence the group, “I’m pregnant! Now you know the truth, are you happy? Now you can stop acting like children and shut it?”

They, unfortunately, did not “ _ shut it _ ” and immediately began to celebrate. There was cheering, laughing, and hugging. It came as a surprise from Ben and Rey on how everyone was reacting. Rose immediately ran to Rey giving her a big hug, Finn and Poe shook Ben's hand and hugged Rey, Chewie gave both of them big Wookie hugs but the only person that the two of them were really concerned about their reaction was Alina. 

She of course pulled both of her parents into a tight hug but when she let go tears were brimming in her eyes. 

“Oh no, you're crying.” Rey gasped as she brushed a few stray tears across her daughter's cheek.

“Don’t worry,” Ali sniffed and a smile broke across her face, “they are happy tears. I am so happy for you both.”

“We wanted to tell you in the comfort of our own home before we told everyone else,” Ben laughed, placing a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, “but I guess we should have probably told you sooner.”

“It’s okay,” Alina too began to laugh, “I’m just so happy for you two. I’m going to be a big sister!”

“Wait a second!” Shara yelled, silencing the room again, “Who won the bet?”

“What bet?” Rey asked as everyone in the room looked at each other with wide eyes knowing that Rey and Ben would finally know about the secret bet that they had on when the two of them would be expecting a baby.

“Well,” Finn laughed nervously rubbing his neck, “we placed twenty credits each and bet on when exactly you two would announce that you were having a baby.”

“And whose idea was this?” Ben asked in a jokingly serious tone.

“Poe!” Everyone in the room said in unison and pointed at him.

“Oh hey come on!” he stumbled on his words as he became frustrated, “I didn’t even think of it until Shara came home saying that you two were breeding like womp rats. Most of us thought it was inevitable that there would be another Solo crawling around soon enough and we just wanted to have a little fun with it.”

“Yeah exactly, so who won?” Shara asked again but this time she was scrolling through her datapad looking for the answer she seeked. After a minute or so she sighed deeply “Damnit Milo won.”

“Hell yeah!” Milo cheered as everyone begrudgingly handed over their credits.

“This sucks!” Shara groaned handing over her credits, “Not only did I lose credits, but I’m also being replaced.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ali laughed, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder.

“Well for the past seventeen years I’ve been the closest thing that you've had to a sibling but now I'm being replaced by your real sibling.” the girl pouted like the child that she truly was.

“Oh, my sweet Shara,” Ali cooed at her friend, “Nobody, not even my real blood sibling could replace you. You're too much of a pain in the ass to get rid of anyway.” 

The Life Day festivities began to slowly fizzle out and everyone went back to their own homes. Ali dozed off, leaning her head on Milo's shoulder as he drove herself and her parents back to their apartment.

Alina had never felt so content in the past eighteen years that she lived in this galaxy. She had a boyfriend that loved her, a best friend that would do anything for her, and two parents that she loved more than anything. This was everything that she had ever dreamed of and finally having it was the most incredible feeling ever. It was such an incredible feeling that she had fallen asleep.

She woke up the next morning tucked into her bed wearing the same clothes that she had worn the night before. The last thing that she remembered was when they began to enter the city's limits. Ali looked to the crono that was next to her bed to see that it was only six in the morning.

Groggily, Alina slowly got out of her bed and grabbed a pair of pajamas that were sitting on her dresser, and then quietly walked to the refresher to take a shower. 

After her quick shower, Alina put her pajamas on and made her way to the kitchen to make her morning caf but when she rounded the corner to go into the kitchen Alina found her parents cuddled up on the couch together.

Ben placed a finger on his lips and pointed to her mother’s sleeping form on the couch. Alina smiled and giggled lightly, she wondered how long they had been awake.

She continued her usual morning routine of making caf. A few minutes in, Ben began to stand up and carefully cradled Rey in his arm, and carried her to their bedroom. After a few minutes, Ben came back and placed an empty ring box on the counter.

“So she said yes?” Alina smiled, glancing down to the box. 

“Well technically she said yes three months ago,” Ben sighed taking a seat on one of the stools, “but now she has a ring to make it official.”

It was a few weeks back ago when Alina was awoken with little shoves from her father early in the morning.

_ “Alina,” he poked her shoulder as his daughter slept peacefully, “Ali, sweetheart, get up.” _

_ Suddenly she took in a deep breath, her eyes flung open, and she sat straight up in her bed. _

_ “Oh, it’s just you.” Ali gasped as she took in her father’s face. _

_ “Sorry,” Ben took a step back from his daughter’s bed giving her space to breathe, “but I have a question that I need to ask you.” _

_ Ali spent a few seconds rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, “Okay, what it’s it?” _

_ “Where does your mom keep the jewelry? I mean if she even has any that she kept from my mother.” Ben was almost hesitant to ask the question but as soon as the sentence was out of his mouth a big smile grew on Ali’s face because she knew what this meant. _

_ In the back of Rey’s closet was a small lockbox that had been given to her shortly after Leia’s death. Alina rarely saw the box full of jewelry, the only time it was ever brought out was for the seldom extravagant event where her mother wouldn’t wear her traditional robes, but when Ali brought the box out of the closet he was a little boy again watching his mother getting ready for an event. _

_ “I never thought I would see this again.” Ben took the box from Alina and traced the engraved pattern on the outside of the box. _

_ “Mom told me that the box and everything inside of it belonged to Leia.” Ali sat on the bed as her father typed in the code to open it. “I remember when I was younger I thought that the jewelry in there was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. They looked like they belonged to a princess.” _

_ “That’s because they did.” He laughed and joined her at the side of the bed, “Some of these are the last few pieces of Alderaan that my mother had. Some were hers, or her adoptive mothers, and others were gifts. Like this.” From the box, Ben pulled out a small blue velvet ring box and flipped the top to open it. Inside the small box was a beautiful natural diamond ring. The ring band was made from a thin piece of gold, with an engraved floral pattern on the sides that lead up to the almost grey diamond. _

_ “It's beautiful,” Ali gasped at the ring, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before?” _

_ “It was my mother’s engagement ring.” A sad smile fell on his face, “My dad told me that he searched for months to find a diamond from Alderaan to give to her as an engagement ring. Anything from Alderaan at that point was hard to come by and if you did find something it was thousands or even millions of credits but he was determined.” _

_ “How did he get it?” it was rare for Ben to talk about his parents. He would tell an anecdote here or there about them but he would never continue talking about them. _

_ “In true Han Solo fashion, he won it in a game of Sabacc.” Ben laughed remembering the story that was brought up almost every time he would play the game or come home with a gift for Leia. “He had originally told her that he found it and nearly got himself killed getting it. She believed him for years until uncle Lando let it slip that he won the ring at nearly 400 credits during that game.” _

_ “How did she react to that news?”  _

_ “Oh she was angry at first, but she still loved it just the same as when he first gave it to her.” A twinge of guilt ran through him like it always did to talk about his parents. He was the one that drove them apart and was the reason for their deaths. The pain slowly began to make Ben feel like he was being surrounded by a thick layer of darkness but was suddenly brought out of it by the gentle touch of his daughter's hand on his. _

_ “I’m sure mom will love it just as much as Leia did.” Ali reassured him with a soft smile. _

“And did she love it?” Ali asked bringing Ben back to the present.

“She did.” Ben smiled thinking about how only a few hours before he knelt before Rey, confessing his undying love for her for the third time. “Your mom said that she had seen the ring hundreds of times and had always admired it. She was glad that she finally had an excuse to wear it.”

“Well congratulations,” Ali smiled and handed Ben a steaming hot mug of caf, ”to your engagement and the new baby.”

The father-daughter duo clinked their calf mugs together and took a sip.

“So were you two up all night?” Ali asked with a mischievous smile on her face.

“No,” Ben rolled his eyes knowing exactly where Alina was going, “we went to bed at a reasonable hour, but your mom had some morning sickness, so I got up with her and she wasn’t tired yet so we laid on the couch, but within a few minutes she was fast asleep.”

“Ah,” Ali nodded, “How far along is she anyway?” They hadn’t really discussed her mother’s pregnancy since she announced it at the party. If she hadn’t fallen asleep on the ride home.

“We think about a month and a half. She actually has an appointment today to confirm everything.” Ben looked at his daughter sheepishly, “Are you okay with us having a…”

“Don’t even finish that question...” Ali laughed and set her caf down on the counter, “I had suspected that maybe she could get pregnant with another kid when I brought you back. Did I like being an only child? Yes. But was it sometimes lonely? Also yes.” She walked around the counter and took a seat on the stool next to him. “You missed out on all of my milestones. My birth and every birthday. You missed watching me learn how to crawl, then walk, then run. You missed me learning how to talk. You didn’t get to watch me grow in my force abilities. Now you and mom get to have that. You both get to be parents now.”

“I mean I have been a parent for three months now.” Ben laughed giving Ali a playful shove.

“I mean being the parent of a baby and getting to raise that child with the woman that you love,” Ali laughed rolling her eyes, “and not an eighteen-year-old.”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked, “I’ve had to keep my eyes on you and Milo, and that hasn’t been like going through hyperspace.”

“I thought we were over this?” Ali groaned getting up from her seat pouring herself another mug of caf, “Milo is harmless and I’ll make sure I tell you the next time I spend the night with my boyfriend.”

_ Milo thought that he and Ali needed a night out. She was a little apprehensive at first leaving the apartment that wasn’t for work but Rey thought that Alina should get out of the house and have some fun. Besides, Rey and Ben also could use some time alone.  _

_ He showed up right at five o’clock to pick and promised to have Alina back before midnight. Rey and Ben enjoyed the few hours that they had alone. Alina, Milo, and or Shara were always at the apartment. Rey and Ben would both agree that they liked having them over but they needed some time alone. _

_ Their night had winded down and Ben went to go get Rey a glass of water but by the time he came back, Rey was sleeping. He tucked her in and placed the water on the bedside table in case she wanted any. Then he went to the refresher to take a shower. When he got out of the refresher Ben expected Alina to be home but she wasn’t. _

_ Ben looked at the crono on the wall and realized that it was nearly two in the morning. He sat up the whole night waiting for his daughter to come home. He tried to go to bed but there was something that just wouldn’t let him sleep.  _

_ Alina said that she would be home by now and she wasn’t. What if something had happened to her? What if Milo did something to her?  _

_ As the sun began to peek over the planet's horizon, Ben was about to wake Rey and tell her that Alina hadn’t come home when he heard the door open.  _

_ Alina's hair that was once meticulously curled was now in a messy braid. The dress she wore was nowhere to be found and now she wore a pair of leggings and a baggy tunic. She had a big smile on her face, knowing that she was about to get yelled at. _

_ “Where were you?” Ben asked in a stern voice as she turned the holo off. _

_ “I thought that you would be sleeping?” Ali set her bag on the counter. _

_ “Well, I’m not.” He got up from the couch, “Now answer the question. Where were you?” _

_ Ali sighed deeply, “I was with Milo on the Falcon.” _

_ “And what exactly were you doing on the Falcon?” Ben pressed walking towards her. _

_ “I think you know what we were doing on the Falcon.” Ali had to stifle a laugh because she knew that if she began to laugh it would only anger her father even more. _

_ “This isn’t funny, Alina.” Ben gave her a pointed look, “Do you realize how worried I was? You didn’t come home when you said you were going to be! I waited all night for you to come home but you didn’t.” _

_ “You were worried about me?” Ali’s face fell and a wave of guilt took over. _

_ “Of course I was.” Ben sighed, “I thought something awful happened to you. I know what kind of monsters are out there because I was one and I can’t lose you Alina because of one.” _

_ They were quiet for a few moments. Alina never had to really worry about someone not knowing where she was. Her mom hadn’t kept a short leash on her since she was about fifteen and it felt weird knowing that he was actually concerned for her well-being. _

_ “I’m sorry,” Ali sighed, tears began to prick her eyes, “mom hasn’t really had to worry where I’ve been since I was fifteen. She knows that I always have a friend with me and that I know this city like the back of my hand. I should have commed to let you know.”  _

_ “It’s okay,” Ben could tell that Alina was actually remorseful for not letting him know where she was. He grabbed her by the shoulder and brought her into a tight embrace. “I guess it’s just weird for me to understand that you’re an adult already and I think it’s hard for me to grasp it. Just let me know next time you’re going to be out late so I don’t have to call the authorities to look for you.”  _

_ Ali laughed pulled her face away from her father’s chest, “Don’t worry I’ll tell you if I’m not going home because if you have the marshals looking for me then you’ll definitely get caught.” _

“You know he carried you up all seven flights of stairs?” Ben laughed bringing Ali back to the present.

“No?” Ali looked at Ben slightly confused, “What was wrong with the lift?”

“It was broken.” Ben took another sip of his caf, “I offered to carry you but Milo insisted. He even tucked you into bed.” He teased his daughter by making a kissy face.

“Eww,” Alina laughed pushing his face away from her, “you’ve been hanging out with Shara too much.”

“I have been and I now understand why she makes fun of you two.” Ben laughed even harder than he was before, “he really does love you though.”

“He does,” Ali said matter of factly, “and I’m glad that you two are finally getting along.”

“He’s good to you, he respects you and is supportive of your passions and I guess that’s all I could ask for you.” Ben's face fell suddenly as if he had just been giving grave news. Ali didn’t ask though what he had felt, she suspected that it was the thought of losing his daughter.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere soon,” Ali reassured placing a hand onto Bens to reassure him.

“I know.” He smiled trying to hide the pain that was behind his eyes but it wasn’t for the thought of losing his daughter. It was for the feeling that something was happening that could rip him away from the life that he loved so much.

“So what are your plans today?” Ben asked, changing the subject.

“I’m going to the temple in a little bit for lessons.” Ali could tell that there was still something wrong, “Since mom isn’t going to be home because of her appointment do you want me to ask Shara or Milo to sit with you?”

“No I’ll be okay by myself for a few hours,” Ben changed the subject, “it’s not like I plan on going anywhere.”

“Okay,” Ali knew there was something wrong but didn’t want to press him anymore, “I shouldn’t be long for too long anyway and when we get back we can work on your saber.”

It took a little convincing but Alina and Rey both got him to be able to restore his lightsaber.

“Maybe the third time’s the charm?” Ben joked when he finally agreed to it.

It took several hours of searching through the Jedi texts they were able to find that sabers that were bled into could be restored and refurbished. What the three of them didn’t expect was that instead of the crystal turning back to its original blue, the crystal's color turned a brilliant white. The only thing that they had to do was remove the black paint off the hilt.

“Yea, we should get it finished before your mom and I move.” Ben nodded, then got up from the stool he was sitting on, “I’m gonna go check on your mom and see how she’s feeling. I’ll see you when you get home from the temple, sweetheart.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead and before Alina could say anything he was halfway to their bedroom. 

Alina believed her father that nothing was wrong and went to the temple as she had planned. She trained her Padawans and conducted the work that she always did with her students. Alina had just finished a private session with one of her favorite students when something suddenly felt off.

It was like there was a looming darkness over her and sudden anxiety that something awful was about to happen. Her thoughts directly to her father who was sitting alone in their apartment. Alina rushed to her speeder and frantically rifled through her bag to find her comlink.

“Milo,” Alina tried to keep calm as she tried to get a hold of her boyfriend, “Milo, where are you I need you!”

There was a brief pause on the other end and Milo answered his comlink. “I’m right here Alina, what’s wrong?”

“Somethings wrong.” She started her speeder, “Somethings going to happen to my dad. I can’t explain it but I think he’s been found out.”

“Okay,” Milo's voice became just as grim as Alinas, “I’ll leave the platform right now and I’ll meet you at the apartment.”

“I can’t lose him, Milo.” Alina’s voice broke and she hung up the comm. The apartment building was only just around the corner she threw her comm in the seat next to her and parked her speeder on the road. 

Ali’s heart was pounding so loud that she couldn’t even hear her own thoughts. The lift was still broken so she ran up the stairs as fast as she could. It didn’t even matter that her lungs were on fire or that she had left her speeder running. The only thing she was concerned about was Ben and his safety. Alina ran down the hallway and was praying to the force that everything would be ok……

But as she got closer to their apartment she could hear men yelling and loud noises.  _ How did they find him?  _ Alina thought as she came down the hallway. They had been so careful. He never left the apartment. This didn’t make any sense. 

This wasn’t fair.

The door to the apartment was open. Inside four uniformed were trying to put Ben in binders but he wasn’t going without a fight. Alina watched as he picked up one of the men with the force and threw him against the wall but two of them grabbed him by his shoulders and brought him to his knees. 

“Let him go!” Alina shouted, igniting her saber and placing her spare hand on her blaster.

“Alina, no!” Ben's eyes darted towards his daughter as she advanced onto the guards. He knew that this wasn’t going to end well. He sensed it hours before and insisted that the women in his life were not home when they took him. 

One of the guards moved out of the way as she swiped her saber towards him. She turned around to get the other guard but then there was a sudden sensation as the butt of a blaster was cracked against her head. 

She fell backward and everything around her went black but not before she heard her father scream her name as he was dragged out of the apartment.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this story has a happy ending but I need all of you to cry at least once before I finish this bad boy!!


	25. He's Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! So I decided to split this chapter into two parts because it was just going to be way too long and I wouldn't have an update for a long time. I hope y'all enjoy this little filler chapter before we get to the climax of this story!  
> Lots of love!  
> Em <3

“Alina, wake up!” Milo's voice was frantic. He had only arrived five minutes after the marshals arrested Ben. His heart sank as soon as he saw that the apartment door was open. As soon as he saw Alina unconscious on the floor with a small pool of blood around her head, Milo practically tripped over his feet trying to get to her. 

Alina could hear the pain in Milo’s voice, but why was he so concerned for her? She could feel something wet and sticky dripping down past her temple and began to flow into her ear lobe. Her head was pounding, no throbbing, everything seemed to be spinning even though her eyes were closed.

“Alina, baby, please wake up.” She could hear the pain in his voice as he pleaded for her to wake up.

_ What happened? _ She asked herself. It had been like any ordinary day. She had gone to the temple to train Padawans and in the morning she had a really nice talk with Ben before she went to the temple.

Ben…

“Ben!” Alina’s eyes snapped open, remembering the events that had taken place only a few minutes before. He was gone. They came and took him.

How did they even find out that he was alive? They were so careful. Nobody even knew that he was alive except for a handful of people. How did they find out?

_ Life Day, _ Alina knew it was a bad idea from the start. She knew that they shouldn’t have gone anywhere, but no one wanted to listen to her.

“Alina, thank the maker.” Milo leaned down and kissed her forehead. He gently wrapped his arm around her neck to help her sit up. “Do you remember what happened? I walked in and you were unconscious.”

“They took Ben,” Ali shivered as she remembered what had transpired, her eyes were closed tight trying to remember the events, “Four uniformed galactic marshals. They must have broken in only a few seconds before I got here. I tried Milo…” Alina’s eyes snapped open as large tears began to stream down her face, “I tried so hard to try and save him, but one of them hit me with the butt of their blasters and I blacked out. It’s all my fault that he’s gone.”

“Shhhh,” Milo brought her in his arms in a gentle embrace, “it’s going to be okay. Were going to figure out what’s going on.”

Alina heaved as she let out a deep sob. She knew what this meant but she didn’t want to accept that this was the end of Ben’s life. That she would be losing the man that she had wanted to meet her whole entire life. This couldn’t be the end though. He just came into her life. 

She waited eighteen years to meet her father, and now he was gone? Just like that? 

“Oh no,” a soft voice spoke behind Alina and Milo that caused them to look to see who it was. 

Shara’s hand flew over her mouth once she saw the scene before her. The couch and caf table had been flipped over, several of Alina’s plants were knocked over, the pots that they had been in were smashed and dirt was covering the floor. There was a tiny puddle of blood next to Alina and blood on her friend's cheek. Poe was only a few seconds behind his daughter with his blaster in hand ready to shoot anyone that came after him.

“Kriff, we’re too late.” He sighed and put his blaster away on his hip. The second he noticed Alina on the floor and immediately he went to her side. “Do you remember what happened, sweetie?”

“They took him.” Alina's voice shook as she spoke, “My dad’s gone.”

“Oh Lina, I’m so sorry,” Poe grabbed a cloth from his pocket and placed it on the side of her head to try and stop the bleeding. “I thought I would have been able to get here in time to get him out, but I was too late.”

“Too late?” Alina asked. Her mind began to turn with what her uncle said. Did he know? Did Poe know that they were going to arrest Ben? 

“Did you know?” She began searching for some answers of truth in his eyes. They fell and he sighed deeply. 

Poe knew and he didn’t tell anyone? He knew that Ben was going to be arrested and never thought to let any of them know? 

“You knew and you never told us?!” Anger blazed inside of Alina for the first time in months. It was different though than the anger that blazed through her then. This anger was full of betrayal and pain but most importantly loss. “How long did you know?” 

She stood up abruptly. Milo offered her a hand as she got to her feet on shaky knees, but Alina swatted it away. 

“It’s not like that, Lina.” Poe stood up too and took a step back from her, seeing that she was about to erupt with anger, but Alina took a step towards him. 

“No, you knew,” she was seething now. Her hand was raised as she pointed her finger at him as if she were scolding a youngling, “I know you knew I sensed it. You wanted them to take him. You never liked my father so of course, you would want him gone.” 

“That's not true, Alina,” Poe spoke softly in hopes to calm his niece down but it only infuriated her even more, “I consider Ben a friend now and I would never want to hurt you or Rey.”

Alina saw red at the mention of her parents' names and suddenly her finger was no longer scolding her uncle but became a fist that cracked against her uncle’s face.

Within mere seconds, Shara was separating Alina from her father.

“Listen I know that you’re upset, Lina,” Shara grabbed ahold of her friend’s wrists to restrain her from becoming more violent, “but my dad did not have anything to do with Ben getting arrested.”

“I came into work this morning and I walked into my office and there were 10 marshals standing there ready to bombarded me with questions.” Poe peered from behind his daughter as he recalled the events that had occurred only a few hours ago. “So many questions Alina, about the past, what I knew about Kylo Ren and Ben. If he was alive or dead. They asked me about you and your mom. For hours I was interrogated and when they finally let me go, I commed Shara and came here. There was no way I would have been able to get ahold of you or Ben in time to get him out.”

“So what did you tell them then?!” Something in Alina snapped. It wasn’t the same kind of fire that she had come across when learning of her true parentage. “You clearly told them that Ben was alive! How else would they know where to get him!”

Alina felt like she was going to jump out of her skin. How could Poe have done this? How could he betray her and her mother like this? She considered Poe to be a father figure for years and even still did after bringing Ben back. Poe knew how much she loved Ben and the relationship that they had. Every ounce of respect that Alina had was thrown out the window and she would probably never have any again. 

“I told them nothing.” He knew his niece was only seconds away from blowing up on him so he needed to digress the situation, “I told them that Kylo Ren's whereabouts were unknown. I told them that I was a high-ranking officer and if I knew anything about Kylo Ren or Ben Solo I would tell them.”

“No,” hot tears began to stream down her face, anger once again brimming about to overflow, “you told him where he was and that Ben was alive and now……. now.” Something broke in Alina that had never broken before. She began to lunge at her uncle with all of the force that she could muster. It was a good thing that Shara was between the two of them otherwise Poe would have another black eye. 

Milo thankfully picked Alina up and carried her to the opposite side of the room in hopes to calm her down but she made a break for it and began to race towards Poe again. That was until Rey walked through the door. 

Everything seemed to slow down and come to a full stop when she walked into the apartment. There was a smile on her face when she came in but it fell when she saw what had happened to her home. Alina remembered that Ben said that she was going to an appointment today to confirm her pregnancy and see how it was progressing. She was sure that her mother had exciting news to tell Ben about the baby but he was nowhere to be found. 

“What’s going on?” Rey looked between the four of them for answers. The first thing she noticed was the large gash on her daughter's head and the apparent absence of the man she loved.

“Alina, what happened to your head?” She closed the distance between her and Alina to examine her wound. “Who did this to you? Where’s your father?”

“Momma,” hot tears began to brim in Alinas eyes once again. How could she tell her mother that the man she loved more than anything was taken away by marshals to a fate that was most likely grim? She took a deep breath trying to put down her emotions for her mother’s sake, “Momma, they took him.”

Rey looked her daughter up and down in disbelief and let go of her grip on her shoulders, “What? No, he was here when I left for my appointment. Ben’s here. I know he’s here.”

“Momma, no it’s true,” Alina sniffed back tears, “I sensed something was wrong and came home early. Four marshals broke into the apartment and arrested him.” Tears started to stream down her face, “I tried, momma, I tried so hard to make sure that they didn’t take him but I wasn’t strong enough. I’m so sorry, momma.”

“No,” tears began to well in Rey’s eyes, “no that can’t be true. We were so safe. We took all the precautions. We were supposed to finally be a family.”

At that moment Rey's whole life came crashing down. All of the dreams she had envisioned for her future with Ben came crashing down on her. All of the plans of the two of them raising their new baby together on Ahch-to were gone. She couldn’t lose Ben again. She couldn’t start back at square one being pregnant and the man she loved more than anything would most likely be dead in a few day’s time.

In a matter of seconds, Rey was nothing more than a puddle of tears and collapse in the weight of her emotions. Thankfully Alina was right there to catch her before she hit the floor and brought her mother into a tight hug which only caused Rey and Alina to cry even harder. 

Both of them thought that their lives were finally turning into the one that they had always dreamed of but now their perfect life was being ripped apart. 

* * *

There was another electrical pulse going through Ben that made his vision go black and his body go stiff. This has been going on for hours now. The galactic marshals that were detaining him would ask a question and if they didn’t like the response that he gave then there would be a taser placed on his neck. 

“Now I’m going to ask you again,” The one guard placed his palms on the table looking across it to Ben who annoyingly rolled his eyes, “Where have you been hiding for nineteen years?”

Ben coughed through the pain, “Like I have told you the last four times you have asked the same kriffing question, I don’t know where I was. I was in a place of limbo called the  _ world between worlds _ .”

The other marshal rolled his eyes knowing that this was clearly the only answer that they were going to get out of their suspect. “Alright, why were you in this  _ world between worlds _ for so long? How did you finally get out and why didn’t you get out sooner?”

Ben swallowed hard, he was sure they already knew about his relationship with Rey, and probably Alina but if they didn’t then Ben didn’t want to be the reason for them to get into some form of danger or get them arrested too.

“If I tell you the truth, you can’t arrest them.” Ben looked at both of the guards. 

One of the guards laughed, “No, that’s not how this works. We ask you the questions and you answer them. We’re not gonna be taking orders from you Ren.

Ben rolled his eyes at being referred to the mad he no longer was, “I will tell you anything and everything you need to know about the First Order bases and you can let me know which ones you have actually destroyed and which ones are still out there.”

His plan from the beginning as soon as he was arrested was to tell them everything that he knew but Ben needed to make sure that the women that he loved and the friends that he had made were protected from any repercussions for protecting him. 

The guards looked at each other and then looked back at Ben. The Twi'lek guard, the nicer of the two, took a few steps forward and placed his palms on the table, “Alright, we promise that whoever brought you back will not have any legal repercussions if you tell us all you know. Now, who got you out of the  _ world between worlds _ ?”

It took Ben a few seconds to collect his bearings knowing that he would be exposing several people that he now cared deeply about in the next few minutes. “Alina Skywalker is the one that brought you back to this world.”

Even though Alina had taken the surname of Solo after finding out who her father was she was still known by the galaxy as a Skywalker. 

Both of the guard’s eyes went wide knowing exactly what their next question was going to be, “So what is your relationship with Miss. Skywalker and her mother?”

Ben hesitated for a few seconds and looked away from the guards. He worried for the women that he loved so deeply and what would happen when the galaxy knew the truth about his relationship with them. Hopefully, the marshals would keep their promise and not let anything happen to them.

“Alina is my daughter and Rey is my fiancé.” Both of the marshal’s eyes went wide but didn’t make much of a commotion because they needed him to continue, “I died trying to resurrect Rey after she died killing Palpatine. We have a very special connection in the force and from that connection it created Alina. Once I brought Rey back to life, I myself died but I wasn’t really dead.”

The marshals were no longer staring at Ben in shock but were now intently listening to his story.

“One second it was dark and cold then the next I was in the  _ world between worlds _ . Alina found me shortly after and I've been living with them for the past three months.” He left out the details of Alina dying after bringing Ben back, how Exegol imploded on itself, and how they spent a few days on Naboo. 

“Well, that answers the next few questions that we have.” The human marshal circled the table and stopped behind Ben. “How old were you when you died?”

“I had just turned 30 a few months before.” If he had lived after Exegol he would be 49, but if he had lived there was no way he would have ever even made it to his 31st birthday. 

“And how old are you now?” The same guard asked. 

“I’m still 30.” Ben said bluntly, “I didn’t age at all. I was frozen in time for the past nineteen years.”

“So I’m guessing that you have no idea what happened to the First Order after Exegol?” The twi’lek asked as he got up from his chair. 

“Rey had filled me in not long after I came back and told me what had happened to the First Order and which high ranking officers were arrested for their war crimes but she never said what bases were raided.” Ben went on for several minutes telling the guards everything that he knew about the bases that were still being used up until the time of the battle of Exegol. Even though nineteen years had passed since the battle of Exegol and to both of the marshals' surprise there were a few bases that they had no idea that existed.

“Has anyone from the First Order contacted you since you have been back?” One of the marshals asked as he fiddled with the taser that hadn’t been used for a few hours now. 

“No,” Ben was surprised by the question. Was there even anyone left that even still believed in the First Order? Hell, he was the Supreme Leader and in the end, he barely cared about the First Order. Did it have everything to do with Rey? Yes, of course, “There is only a small group of people that know about my past and know that I am alive now. None of them have any ties to the First Order and if anyone that has ties to the First Order or any new organization I would not have anything to do with them.”

“And why is that?”

“I spent over six years of my life building the First Order. I was abused and put into situations that I really didn’t want to be involved in but I went along with it anyway because I knew if I didn’t I would be killed myself. It wasn’t until the last few hours before I was thrown into the world between worlds I denounced it completely. I guess I had known for a long time that being a part of something that ripped me from my family and destroyed the lives of trillions of beings in this galaxy wasn’t the best thing to be involved in. I have Rey to thank for finally showing me the light again.”

The marshals had seized their questions and fell silent. They got exactly what they wanted out of him anyway.

“So what will happen to me now?” Ben asked as the silence started to become unsettling.

The marshals looked at each other with solemn expressions on their faces. The twi'lek sat up and let out a deep sigh.

“In a few minutes, the guards standing outside will take you to a high-security prison cell where you will have a guard posted outside 24-7. Tomorrow there will be a trial tomorrow to decide your fate since you already confessed that you are guilty of your crimes. Then the next day….”

“I’ll be a dead man,” Ben said bluntly. 

“There is a chance that you won’t be executed.” The human marshal shifted his weight leaving a datapad on the table, “You gave us valuable information that could maybe save your life.”

Ben could sense only what could be described as empathy from the marshals. He wasn’t sure exactly why? They were probably teenagers when the war had ended. They most likely lost people that they loved by his hand. They should hate him. They should want him dead.

“Maybe nineteen years ago it would have,” Ben laughed nervously, “but I’ve done too much damage across the galaxy. I’m sure most people in the galaxy wish me to be torn to shreds by a Wampa or drawn and quartered by Faviers.”

Even if Ben had lived all those years ago after Exegol the likelihood of him living afterward would be slim. The galaxy wanted him dead, he knew that for years even before his final battle and, to be honest, he deserved it. Ben deserved everything that was coming to get him. He just wished that Alina and Rey didn’t have to experience this whole ordeal but he knew that their friends would be with them.

* * *

It had been about five hours since Ben had been taken away. Finn and Rose had shown up not long after Rey, and Rose had barely left Rey’s side the moment she walked through the door. The group had been debating on how exactly the next few days would play out. They knew that there would be a trial of some sort whether it was to find Ben guilty or if it were to sentence him to his crimes. The likelihood of there being a traditional trial to find Ben guilty or not guilty was extremely slim because he was guilty of every crime that they would pin on him. Everyone knew that including Ben. 

The real question was what Ben’s sentence would be. Secretly they all knew what exactly his fate would be but nobody wanted to say it out loud. 

“Well if he is exiled the two of you will just have to leave for Ahch-to immediately.” Finn offered. The home that he, Milo, Alina, and Poe had been working on still needed a lot of work but they could still live in it. 

Finn was currently pacing in front of the holo that was playing the special coverage on the arrest of Kylo Ren. Pictures of Rey, Ben, and even Alina had been popping up, and at this point, the whole galaxy knew that Ben was Alina’s father. Everyone’s comlinks had been going off every few minutes with another person asking if the news was true. Poe was currently in the hallway having a very intense conversation with his second in command, Karé Kun. Alina on the other hand had to turn her comlink off before it exploded because of how many of her friends from the temple were trying to contact her. 

Alina felt as though she were drowning in her emotions. She could feel something was wrong before she left this morning. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have let this happen? Now the one man that she had spent her whole life wanted to meet was days away from maybe being put to death. If only she had listened to her gut and stayed home or asked Shara or Milo to be here with him, then maybe just maybe the marshals wouldn’t have broken in and arrested Ben.

“It’s all my fault,” She didn’t mean to say it out loud. The whole group turned to face her, she had barely spoken more than ten words since telling her mother that Ben had been taken. Ali was currently perched on one of the barstools. Shara, who was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation that her father was currently having with Karé, turned her head quickly and gave her friend an almost bewildered look. 

“Don’t say that. How could you have known this was going to happen?” Shara left her post at the door to comfort her friend.

“There was something off about him when I was getting ready to leave this morning.” Ali could feel tears once again beginning to prick her eyes, “And I knew there was something off about him, but I didn’t do anything and I should have. I should have done something.”

“And even if you did have someone here with him, how do you know that they wouldn’t have been arrested too or worse?” Shara sat on the other stool and took her friend’s hands into hers. “You did come back to save Ben just before he was taken away and you weren’t able to keep him safe. You were outnumbered and emotionally fueled.”

“And I couldn’t save him!” Ali practically shouted, “This is my fault this is all of my fault. We should have never gone to Life Day last night. Then they would have never found out that Ben was alive.”

“This isn’t just your fault.” Rey chimed in, there was a blank expression on her and her voice was barely above a whisper. She too had barely said a handful of words in the past few hours. “This is all of our fault. Yours, mine, and everyone else who is in this room had a hand in not protecting him. We should have never come back to Chandrila. We should have stayed on Naboo or gone straight to Ahch-to. He would have been safe there but once again I am pregnant and without the man I love.”

The room was quiet once again as they all took the time to let Rey's words sink in. Poe, Rose, and Finn had pushed Rey into taking Ben back to Chandrila, instead of just staying at the lake house on Naboo or moving to Ahch-to right away because it would have been risky. At the time it seemed like the most logical idea but now she had realized that it was a fatal decision.

Finn and Rose grimaced at the thought of Rey having to go through another pregnancy without Ben. Having to give birth and raise the child of the man that she loved so much without him all over again. They were there for her every step of the way the first time around and even though they had gotten older they would still be there for Rey every step of the way through.

The first time, however, the two of them were glad that Ben wasn’t in the picture. He was someone that they feared and worried that Ben would have put Rey and Alina in some sort of harm. This time around though Ben was their friend and they wanted him to be there for Rey and Alina and to be there to raise his new baby.

The room was still dead silent when Poe came back in. His face was flushed from arguing with his second in command. 

“Well, what did you find out?” Finn asked as he moved back to the couch. 

“There will only be one trial to sentence him.” Poe sighed. With one trial there were only two options, execution or exile. “The trial will be tomorrow and five jury members have been chosen to decide what Ben’s fate will be.” 

“Does Karé know anyone that is on it?” Shara turned to face her father.

“Well, the reason she commed me was because she was asked to be on the jury instead of myself and to ask me why exactly I wasn’t chosen to be on the jury.” From what Shara had gotten when she was eavesdropping on the conversation was that her father had told one of his oldest friends everything that had happened over the past three months. 

“And what did she say when you told her everything?” Ali asked through tearful eyes. A part of her was begging that maybe there would be one person on their side to let her father live. 

“Karé feels like she has been betrayed.” Poe's expression softened as his eyes met his niece's face, “She is very upset with me because I’ve known about all of this for so long and never told her. I asked her how she would vote in the trial, and she refused to tell me.”

Alina had known Karé for the majority of her life and even considered her an aunt. A part of Alina wished that Karé would take their side and wanted to save Ben's life, but by the tone of Poe's voice, it didn’t seem like she was going to take their side. Ali’s stomach began to turn at the thought of people that she knew wanting to convict Ben to death. She never thought that Ben would mean so much to her a few months ago but at this point 

“I need to get some air.” Alina suddenly got up from the stool she was sitting on and started to head towards the glass door that led out to the terrace. Milo and Shara got up to follow her but Ali was quick to stop them once she got to the door. “I want to be alone.” 

As soon as Alina opened the glass door to the terrace she was met with cheers of celebration. For a few moments, she stood there bewildered by the noise before she slammed the door behind her. 

_ How could they be celebrating?  _ She wondered why people would be celebrating a man being arrested but Ben wasn’t any man. 

Ben was a war criminal and the galaxy wanted him dead. Now finally after nineteen years of him being  _ missing _ and most likely on the run from his crimes it was finally time for him to pay for all that he has done. 

The longer she was outside, the angrier she became. There was music blaring through the streets, people were cheering and laughing, and not far in the distance, she could hear fireworks going off. A celebration like this would normally make Shara, Milo, and herself go and join the people in the streets without even knowing what exactly they were partying for, but now it only made her angry and frustrated that this was the galaxy that they lived in. That they would be celebrating the death of a man who meant so much to her. 

Hot tears began to stream down her face and a scream ripped from her chest to hopefully silence the cheers, but it only seemed to make them louder and drown out the agony that she was in.

Similar tears began to stream down Rey's face as she heard her daughter's cries of agony. She knew that pain all too well. Rey had felt it years ago after she had lost Ben the first time. All she wanted to do was cry and scream but as much as she wanted to do the same thing now but she had two children to care about. Her hand slowly came up to caress her still flat stomach. A part of Rey prayed that hopefully this child will be able to meet their father but as the day went on her dream began to diminish even more.

The apartment became quiet again. Milo and Shara kept a close eye on their friend as she grieved on the other side of the glass door. Alina was leaning on the banister and was currently rubbing her fingers over a plant with fuzzy leaves. 

The group was suddenly broken from their comfortable silence by a knock on the door. They weren’t expecting anyone else to come over and the group began to become tense. There was talk that maybe Rey and Alina would be arrested for harboring Ben.

“I’ll go see who that is,” Poe said nervously and took three large steps to the door. He looked in the keyhole and looked back to Rey with a confused expression on his face. “It’s Maz.”

Rey lifted an eyebrow. She hadn't seen Maz since the night of the gala that had started everything with Alina bringing back Ben. At the time she was angry with the woman but now she felt like she should thank Maz. “Let her in.”

When Poe opened the door Maz gave him a confused look. “You knew?”

“It’s good to see you too Maz,” Poe rolled his eyes and moved slightly to let her in, “Yes, I knew.”

As the old woman entered the apartment her eyes went even wider than they normally were at the sight of Rey’s living room full of people.

“All of you knew?” For the first time in a very long time, Maz Kanata was shocked by something. She had a feeling months ago that young Alina was able to bring back Ben Solo, but she never imagined that their friends would ever know or accept the truth.

“Why wouldn’t we have known?” Rose asked with a slight laugh, her hand was still holding onto Reys. “We loved Rey and Alina, why wouldn’t we be there for this?” 

Rey gave Rose a small smile and let go of her hand. She stood up and moved to close the distance between herself and Maz. She gave Maz a sad smile as she moved to be at her level.

“I came to pay my respects.” Maz took Rey’s hands into hers. Rey closed her eyes trying to stop the tears from streaming down her face again.

“How did you know?” Rey asked, “That Alina was his daughter? How did you find his lightsaber?”

“From the first time I laid eyes on your daughter I suspected that she was Leia's granddaughter and I’m not the only senator that suspected her parentage. Maz laughed lightly, “The lightsaber was found about three years ago when a group of my men went searching for anything that could be useful from the wreckage of the second Death Star. They brought it to me because they thought it would confirm that Kylo Ren was dead…”

“But you knew that he wasn’t really dead?” Rey gave a small smile. She knew that Maz was well versed in the Force but how could she know that Ben wasn’t really dead?

“I was with Leia when she passed and I felt her son go too, but he didn’t join the force like his mother. Instead, he went somewhere else.” Mazes eyes lifted up to see the lightsaber that she had given to Alina three months ago. The rust that was covering it was cleaned off and the black paint that once covered it was also rubbed off. “When I gave your daughter the lightsaber I never expected her to go looking for him, let alone bringing him back after nineteen years. I thought you would have told her by then that he was her father but what I gathered from her reaction she had no clue.”

“She didn’t know then that Ben was her father, but I guess I should thank you for giving her his lightsaber.” A tear began to roll down Rey’s cheek. Alina getting Ben’s lightsaber was the start of everything changing in their family. If she had never gotten that lightsaber then Alina probably would never know the truth about her father and would definitely not have a relationship with her father. Rey would never have been reunited with the man that she loved so much. “Without it, I don’t think I would have ever told her, and I definitely wouldn’t have been reunited with Ben.”

“You're welcome,” Maz raised her hand to cup Rey’s cheek wiping away stray tears, “now how is Alina? Is she here?” The old woman looked over Rey’s shoulder but couldn’t find the young girl anywhere.

“She’s outside on the terrace.” Rey sighed, “She’s devastated and is blaming herself for Ben being arrested.”

Maz felt awful for the girl, especially because she had a main part of Alina bringing her father back. “I think I’ll go talk to her.”

She patted Rey’s hand and gave her a sad smile. Maz headed towards the glass door that led to where Alina was and went outside. 

“I’m going to the prison and see if I can find anything out about Ben,” Poe grumbled, grabbing his jacket. He was also overwhelmed with guilt. The three of them had trusted him to help protect Ben, and he had failed. He wasn’t able to save Ben and now he needed to do anything and everything in his power to make sure that Ben was not executed. 

* * *

Alina didn’t think much about it when she heard the terrace door open. She had figured that it was Milo, or Shara making sure that she was okay but when she realized who it was Alina was surprised.

“You brought him back?” Maz’s voice made Alina’s head perk up slightly. She fixed her posture and wiped away the tears that were still on her cheeks and turned around to face the old woman. 

When Maz saw Alina’s face her heart fell. The young girl’s eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

“I couldn’t save him though.” Alina’s voice broke. Tears began to stream down her cheeks again and she fell to her knees.

“Oh, my poor child.” Maz closed the space between the two of them and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You did all that you could to save your father.”

“I can’t lose him, Maz.” Alina sobbed even harder. Not only couldn’t Alina lose him but Rey couldn’t lose him. It would just break everyone in their family.

“I know, but there is still time for you to make sure that he won’t die.” The old woman reassured her. 

“But how?” She looked up at Maz with a confused expression on her face. What could she possibly do to help save Ben’s life?

“There will be a jury at his hearing.” Maz also knew exactly what would be happening with Ben. This didn’t surprise Alina though because of her involvement with the senate. “If not all five of the jury members are able to agree on sentencing Ben Solo to death then he will be exiled from the galactic republic. You are an intelligent young woman. I have faith that you could convince at least one of them to lower your father’s sentencing.”

Alina was perplexed and was surprised by Maz’s statement. Was Maz really telling her that there was a chance that she could save Ben? Could she maybe talk to the jury into maybe getting Ben’s sentencing lowered to exile?

“Do you really think I could do that?” Alina asked, “Is that even allowed?”

“It’s a bit taboo,” Maz confessed, “but not illegal. Tell them the truth. Tell them about your father and where he has been for all these years. We all know that Ben Solo is guilty of his crimes, but that doesn’t mean that he has to die again.”

A small smile began to spread across her lips. For the first time in hours, she had hope again. She had hope that maybe just maybe she could convince at least one of the jury members to think that Ben should deserve to live. He had missed nineteen years of life. He was robbed of watching his daughter grow up. He missed being with the woman that he loved more than anything but yet there was a chance that he could live. There was a chance that he could be there to raise his second child. 

And with the force by her side, Alina would do anything and everything to make sure Ben Solo would live. 

  
  



End file.
